Sitting in Solidarity Took Place to Remember 35 Former SU Students Who Died in the Pan Am Flight 103

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (CitrusTV News) — In the midst of Syracuse University’s annual Remembrance Week, “Sitting in Solidarity” was held today (Oct. 22) on the Quad. 

All 35 Syracuse Remembrance Scholars sat in chairs on the Quad for 35 minutes this afternoon. This is in honor of the 35 former Syracuse University students who died in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing in 1988. All 35 students were returning home from study abroad programs in London and Florence. 

Sitting in Solidarity allows Remembrance Scholars, along with the community, a period of interrupted reflection. German Nolivos, one of this year’s scholars, said this event is a way to remember each student individually. 

“It’s 30 minutes of silence where you can really think about how these people were feeling, how their families were waiting for them at the airport, how there was a game happening at the Dome. And all of those people were finding out about their friends, coworkers, close friends,” Nolivos said. 

10 Lockerbie Scholars and two program coordinators are also on campus for Remembrance Week this year. All 12 of them attended and participated in Sitting in Solidarity. They represent the Lockerbie residents who were killed during the bombing. 

All 259 members on board Pan Am Flight 103 were killed as a result of the bombing. While Syracuse’s Remembrance Week shines a light on the students who died, it aims to honor all lives lost during the tragedy. 

Remembrance week will continue until Friday, October 24th, with the final event of the week being the Remembrance Scholar Convocation at 3 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. 

Reporter: Lauren Holdmeyer