Campus & Community

University’s Annual Remembrance Week Begins Oct. 15

Tuesday, October 10, 2023, By News Staff

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on Dec. 21, 1988. The 2023-24 Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars have planned events and activities to remember the 270 people who lost their lives in the tragedy.

Roses and stones on the Wall of Remembrance

Roses and stones on the Wall of Remembrance (Photo by Angela Ryan)

Remembrance Week, the annual weeklong series of events planned by the Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars, will be held Sunday, Oct. 15, through Saturday, Oct. 21. Remembrance Week events are meant to memorialize the victims and further educate the campus community about terrorism. 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 Heather Ryerson at 315.443.5725 or by email at hmryerso@syr.edu. The schedule is as follows:

All Week 

  • “In Pursuit of Justice: Pan Am 103” Exhibition, sixth floor of Bird Library, on display through Jan. 6, 2024: Curated by Pan Am 103 Archivist Vanessa St. Oegger-Menn, the exhibition documents the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The exhibition features materials donated to the Pan Am 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives at the Special Collections Research Center by the victims’ loved ones and members of the investigative teams. The exhibition provides an overview of the disaster, investigation and first trial at Kamp van Zeist in the Netherlands. For more information or to request a tour, email pa103archives@syr.edu or call 315.443.0632.
  • Empty Seats Display, Kenneth A. Shaw Quadrangle: The Empty Seats are the 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 will sit in solidarity in the chairs on Wednesday, Oct. 18, beginning at 9:15 a.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 Pan Am 103 victims, will be on display in the area between the Newhouse School 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.

Sunday, Oct. 15

  • Candlelight Vigil, Place of Remembrance, 6 p.m.: The Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars will begin Remembrance Week activities with a Candlelight Vigil to remember the 270 victims of Pan Am 103. In the event of rain, the vigil will be held inside Hendricks Chapel.

Monday, Oct. 16

  • Community Stone Painting, Shaw Quad, 9 a.m.: Members of the University community are invited to paint stones that will be placed on top of the Wall of Remembrance during the Rose-Laying Ceremony on Friday, Oct. 20.

Wednesday, Oct. 18

  • “Sitting in Solidarity,” Kenneth A. Shaw Quadrangle, 9:15 a.m.: The Remembrance and Lockerbie scholars will sit in the empty chairs on the Quad for 35 minutes.
  • Screening of “Seat 20D,” 7 p.m., Gifford Auditorium, Huntington Beard Crouse Hall: The documentary tells the story of “Dark Elegy,” the memorial created by Suse Lowenstein, whose son, Alexander, was killed in the Pan Am 103 bombing. A question-and-answer session with filmmaker Jill Campbell will follow.

Thursday, Oct. 19

  • Celebration of Life, Gifford Auditorium, Huntington Beard Crouse Hall, 8 p.m.: An evening of music, poetry, art, dancing and more to honor the victims of Pan Am 103 and to celebrate life alongside the victims’ families and the current scholars. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Communication Access Real-Time Translation will be available for this event.

Friday, Oct. 20

  • Rose-Laying Ceremony​, Place of Remembrance, 2:03 p.m.: This annual ceremony remembers the 270 people, including 35 students studying abroad through Syracuse University, who were killed in the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing. The ceremony also honors 2002-03 Lockerbie Scholar Andrew McClune, who died in 2002. American Sign Language interpretation will be available for this event.
  • Remembrance Scholar Convocation, Hendricks Chapel, 3 p.m.​: This annual convocation will honor the 2023-24 Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars. ASL interpretation and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) will be available for this event. A reception at the Syracuse University Art Museum Galleria in the Shaffer Art Building will immediately follow.

Saturday, Oct. 21

  • Remembrance and Lockerbie scholars will perform community service in downtown Syracuse with We Rise Above the Streets.