Scholars ask students, community to respect Place of Remembrance during construction

The refurbishing of the Place of Remembrance, a memorial to forever honor the victims of Pan Am Flight 103, is expected to be completed this October, a year before the world will recognize the 25th anniversary of the tragedy.

Both the Place of Remembrance and the Gateway to Campus — the prominent dual staircases leading up to the Hall of Languages — are part of a restoration project led by Syracuse University’s Office of Campus Planning, Design and Construction.

The project will ensure the structural longevity of the area that honors the 35 SU study abroad students whose lives were lost in the bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on Dec. 21, 1988. Work began this past May and should be complete by the end of October in advance of the university’s annual Remembrance Week events from October 21-27. We request students and members of the SU community respect the construction site during this time.

The Place of Remembrance is more than a gateway to our campus; it is a place that invites us to reflect on the importance of personal relationships and reminds us of our responsibility to act in ways that promote scholarship, dialogue and understanding. It is an area that is very important to victims’ families and everyone impacted by the Pan Am 103 tragedy. Completion of this project will ensure a lasting foundation for honoring the memory of those lost.

While we recognize that the construction site may be a disruption on campus, we ask for your patience and understanding while the project is underway. There are many custom-made pieces of granite and limestone used, which have required weeks of workmanship and handling. The fences and warning lines placed around the site are there to protect the materials and equipment within and, more importantly, to protect nearby pedestrians while construction is underway.

Restoration of the adjacent staircases and sidewalks is also part of the project, providing a physical upgrade to the area regularly traversed — and photographed — by the SU community and visitors to campus.

The workers who are on-site every day take pride in the work, especially on this site, as it memorializes the tragic loss of our 35 students and 235 others on Pan Am Flight 103. We hope that members of our campus and local community will feel that same sense of pride and treat this construction site with respect when the workers leave for the day.

The 2012-13 Remembrance and Lockerbie scholars

Scott Anthes

Ryan Badman

Ivan Bakin

Amanda Balch

Jaime Bernstein

Tara Brenner

Andrea Butchko

David Carpenter

Andrew Cline

Sarah Costello

Daniel Cowen

Christopher DePalma

Emily Deshaies

Adam Dukoff

Jesse Feitel

Maureen Finn

Alise Fisher

Laura Foti

Carly Getz

Kemardo Henry

Alyssa Ierardo

Gordon Jones

Anna Kahkoska

Daniel Kepple

Stephanie Kranz

Alaina Mallette

Juliann Merryman

Elizabeth Mikula

Matthew Musacchio

Perry Russom

Kishauna Soljour

Michelle Tarshus

Natascha Trellinger

Sarah Walton

Bailey White

Claire Dorrance

Rachel Nicholson