The Daily Bulletin Archive

Just before the start of the chaotic week of final exams, grading, and Commencement, nearly 100 faculty, staff, students, alumni, family members, and friends took time to remember something far more important—the lives of loved ones.

The annual campus memorial service known as the “Celebration of Life” paid tribute to 49 students, faculty, staff, and alumni who passed away during the academic year.

The 2008 ceremony—the seventh consecutive annual gathering of its kind—took place Friday, May 2, in Rockwell Hall. It included music from the Buffalo State Chamber Choir, a message from President Howard, readings, the lighting of memorial candles, a memorial wreath presentation, a memory book signing, and an after-event reception. Toward the end of the ceremony, as the full list of the decreased was read, a memorial bell rang once after each name.

According to Modupe Akin-Deko, associate director and clinical coordinator of the Counseling Center, the ceremony is designed to be spiritual yet nondenominational.

“The focus is on lifting the spirits of those left behind,” she said. “The ceremony gives the college community an opportunity to be together and respond to [the loss of] loved ones.”

Akin-Deko is a co-coordinator of the Critical Incident Support Team, a volunteer group under the auspices of the Counseling Center. She said the team works every year to plan the Celebration of Life ceremony and organized the first event in 2002, after a well-known student passed away.

“At the time, it was powerful to see so many members of the community come out to support the student,” Akin-Deko said, “but we realized we needed a way to recognize all of our own.”

The Celebration of Life often includes special touches from year to year. The 2007 event included ribbons to honor victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy. This year, guests received carnations and also heard a Chamber Choir performance of the United States Navy Hymn in honor of the late Captain John Freidhoff, lead boat captain and field station manager of the Great Lakes Center, who died in October. He was also a member of the Critical Incident Support Team.

Akin-Deko and Joan McCool, director of the Counseling Center, encourage more members of the campus community to attend next year’s event and to share names of deceased loved ones for the campus to acknowledge.

“Beyond the counseling we offer, we want anyone who grieves for members of our community to know their loved ones will be remembered,” McCool said. “The Celebration of Life is a healing activity for the community. It’s important to stop and reflect.”