Thirty-eight years after the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, the 2026-27 Remembrance Scholars and Lockerbie Fellows will lead Syracuse University’s annual Remembrance Week, Oct. 18-24.

Remembrance Week activities are planned to look back on the impact of the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. The bombing claimed the lives of 270 people, including 35 students returning from a semester of study abroad in London and Florence through the University’s Division of International Programs Abroad (now Syracuse Abroad) and 11 Lockerbie residents.

The week will also highlight how students are acting forward. During their scholarship year, this year’s Remembrance Scholars are engaged in a broad range of “Act Forward” projects on Remembrance education, community healing through the arts, a participatory awareness art campaign, remembering through recipes, a Remembrance and global citizenship and walking tour, intercultural dialogue and aviation safety.

The Remembrance Scholars will be joined by the 2026-27 Lockerbie Fellows on the Syracuse campus for the week. The fellows are 10 students from Lockerbie Academy chosen through a competitive process. During their time in Syracuse, the Lockerbie Fellows, accompanied by Lockerbie Academy Deputy Head Teachers Catherine Carrick and Kerry Currie (a 1996-97 Lockerbie Scholar), will represent the 11 Lockerbie residents who died in the bombing and 2002-03 Lockerbie Scholar Andrew McClune, who died during his scholarship year in Syracuse.

This year’s Lockerbie Fellows are Max Atkinson, Carly Black, Anna Byers, Megan Curry, Falon Oliphant, Amy Oliver, Imogen Reid, Emma Sloan, Joshua Thompson and Lewis White.

Remembrance Week will be held Sunday, Oct. 18, through Saturday, Oct. 24. All activities are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. For more information, visit remembrance.syr.edu.

Those who require accommodations to fully participate in these events should contact Tamara Hamilton at 315.443.4282 or tnhami01@syr.edu. The week’s schedule is as follows:

 All Week 

• Empty Seats Display, Kenneth A. Shaw Quadrangle: The Empty Seats Display is a visual representation of the Syracuse University students lost aboard Pan Am Flight 103. The exhibition is meant to serve as a reminder of how a loss in the past can inspire positive actions in the present. This year’s Remembrance Scholars and Lockerbie Fellows will sit in solidarity in the chairs for 35 minutes on Wednesday, Oct. 21, beginning at 2 p.m.
• Pen-and-ink drawings of the Syracuse University study abroad student victims will be on display in Hendricks Chapel.
• Blue and white flags, one for each of the 270 Pan Am 103 victims, will be on display in the area between the Newhouse School of Public Communications and Schine Student Center. Also, the Hall of Languages, Hendricks Chapel and the JMA Wireless Dome will be lit in blue in honor of Remembrance Week.
• The Remembrance Quilt will be on display in Hendricks Chapel. The quilt was created by the 1998-99 Remembrance Scholars, members of the Hendricks Chapel Quilters and many other contributors to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the bombing. The stories of the SU student victims are told through the design of each quilt block.
• Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives temporary exhibition, Bird Library, first floor display case near Starbucks café: A temporary exhibition of materials from the Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives’ collections pertaining to the sculptural work “Dark Elegy”  by Suse Lowenstein will be on display throughout the week. Lowenstein lost her eldest son, Syracuse University student Alexander Lowenstein, in the bombing.

Sunday, Oct. 18

• Candlelight Vigil, Hendricks Chapel steps, 5 p.m.: The Remembrance Scholars will remember the 270 victims of Pan Am 103. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be available. The event will be livestreamed.

Tuesday, Oct. 20

• A Remembrance Week Reception will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Syracuse University Washington D.C. Center. Contact Cameron MacPherson at camacphe@syr.edu for more information or to register.

Wednesday, Oct. 21

• “Sitting in Solidarity,” Kenneth A. Shaw Quadrangle, 2 p.m.: The Remembrance and Lockerbie Fellows will sit in the empty chairs on the Quad for 35 minutes.
• Film Screening, 107 Hall of Languages, 6:30-8 p.m.: The first installment of the Netflix drama series “The Bombing of Pan Am 103” will be presented.

Thursday, Oct. 22

• Act Forward Symposium, lobby of Heroy Geology Laboratory, 6-7 p.m.: The Remembrance Scholars will present posters that share their plans to “act forward” through outreach, research, education and creative projects designed to benefit the community.
• Lockerbie Fellows Presentation, Heroy Geology Laboratory, 001 Auditorium, 7-8 p.m.: The Lockerbie Fellows will speak on their personal experiences and offer reflections.

Friday, Oct. 23

• Rose-Laying Ceremony, Place of Remembrance, 2:03 p.m.: American Sign Language interpretation will be available for this event. The Rose-Laying Ceremony and Remembrance Convocation will be livestreamed.
• Remembrance Scholar Convocation, Hendricks Chapel, 3 p.m.: ​This annual convocation will honor the 2026-27 Remembrance Scholars. ASL interpretation and CART will be available. A reception in the Allyn Innovation Center, located on the first floor of Link Hall, will immediately follow.