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Columbia Explosion Shocks Students, Campuses Respond
February 04, 2003Comments (0) | Add | E-mail this to a friend  Hillel campuses across the country held moments of silence, prayer vigils, and lit candles to mourn the loss of the six Americans and one Israeli astronaut who died aboard the space ship Columbia.
"Our hearts go out to all of the families involved in this tragedy," said Sherie Rappoport, vice president of the Jewish Student Union Board at the Lester J. Morris Hillel Jewish Student Center. "This is a nation that looks to astronauts as heroes."
To many students, the explosion of the Columbia struck a familiar cord and brought back distinct memories of the Challenger explosion in 1986. They acted on their emotions and created appropriate programs on their campuses.
University of Florida Hillel sponsored a vigil with prayers, readings about the astronauts and a moment of silence to remember the crew.
"I think that the astronauts represented something – a united effort to better this world, literally by going out of this world," said student Eli Menaged, who wore a red, white and blue ribbon in memory of the lives lost aboard the space shuttle.
Many of the campus Hillels joined together with other student groups to memorialize the astronauts. New York University Hillel has a memorial service planned with the Math and Science Department, Students of Color On-Campus Club, Indian Cultural Exchange, and the student government.
"When I read about the crew and learned how diverse they were I was really taken aback. It was people from all different backgrounds who shared a common desire to learn and improve human welfare," said NYU Hillel student Marla Schuchman. "It is important when remembering these astronauts to keep their dreams of working together as a community alive."
Hillel at the University of Texas at Austin sponsored a candlelight vigil with the Student Government Association, campus churches, the Indian Student Association and other campus groups. Many of the students at UT felt a special connection to Israel's first astronaut, Cpl. Ilan Ramon, who visited the campus in 1999 and was going to visit again after his return from space.
"Ramon represented the best of the Jewish people and the highest ideals of the Israel nation," Rabbi David Kudan of Harvard Hillel told the AP. "This loss of the seven was a tragic one for our nation and for the nation of Israel." Kudan said he felt the loss of the seven astronauts as a human being, as an American and as a Jew.
While in space, Ramon had asked the Israeli Prime Minister for every Jew in the world to plant a tree in Israel that year. Hillel at the University of Florida, University of Georgia, and San Diego State University have started tree campaigns in his memory.
Other schools that have created programs or sponsored events to remember the astronauts include Hofstra University Hillel; Pittsburgh University Hillel; SUNY at Stoneybrook Hillel; Queens College Hillel; University of Connecticut Hillel; Hillel at Syracuse University;Hillel at University of California San Diego; University of Chicago Hillel; Hillel at Columbia University and Barnard College; Hillel at Davis and Sacremento; and Hillel at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
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