Look Back, Act Forward
Each year in the fall, Syracuse University observes Remembrance Week. Events are designed by the Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars, whose goal is to raise campus and community awareness of terrorism and to encourage the entire Syracuse University community to remember the victims of the Pan Am 103 bombing by becoming involved and working to positively impact others.
As our campus and community looks back on a senseless tragedy, we find comfort and meaning in remembering the lives and passions of those who lost their lives on December 21, 1988 and especially in acting – on their behalf – to make the communities we live in better.
For information about past Remembrance Week events, please contact the Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives.
Remembrance Week
October 16-22, 2022
All Week
35 Empty Seats Display, Kenneth A. Shaw Quadrangle – The 35 Empty Seats are the visual representation of the 35 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 Monday, Oct. 17, beginning at 1:28 p.m.
Pen-and-ink drawings of the 35 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. 16
Music and Message, Hendricks Chapel, 4 p.m. and Candlelight Vigil, Hendricks Chapel to the Place of Remembrance, 5:30 p.m. – The Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars will begin Remembrance Week activities with a Music and Message collaboration with Hendricks Chapel that addresses themes of hope, resilience and action in the face of tragedy. The evening will conclude with a Remembrance Candlelight Vigil at the Place of Remembrance.
Monday, Oct. 17
“Sitting in Solidarity,” Kenneth A. Shaw Quadrangle, noon – The Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars will sit in the 35 empty chairs on the Quad.
Tuesday, Oct. 18
“Look Back, Act Forward Mural,” 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Schine Student Center
Wednesday, Oct. 19
“Look Back, Act Forward Mural,” 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Schine Student Center
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.
Thursday, Oct. 20
Celebration of Life, K.G. Tan Auditorium, National Veterans Resource Center at the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Building, 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 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. ASL interpretation will be available for this event.
Individual Reflection in a Creative Guided Space, 3 p.m., Noble Room, Hendricks Chapel – The Remembrance Scholars will offer a guided, creative space for students to process their thoughts on what it means to Look Back & Act Forward; reflect on the impact of antisemitism, islamophobia, and hate of all kinds; and share their ideas on the future of the Remembrance program through private letters to the current cohort. Please note this space will be intended for personal reflection. Future dialogue-based events will be announced soon.
Friday, Oct. 21
“‘It was known as the place where nothing ever happens. But it did. It did.’: Trauma, Identity, Community and the 1988 Lockerbie Bombing” lecture, Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, 114 Bird Library, 10 a.m. – Researchers/criminologists Andy Clark of Newcastle University and Colin Atkinson of the University of the West of Scotland will discuss their recent criminological oral history research with first responders to the Lockerbie disaster site. This presentation is sponsored by the Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives at the Syracuse University Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center. Communication Access Real-Time (CART) will be provided.
Rose-Laying Ceremony, Place of Remembrance, 2:03 p.m. – This annual ceremony honors the 270 people, including 35 students studying abroad through Syracuse University, who were killed in the Dec. 21, 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The ceremony also honors 2002-03 Lockerbie Scholar Andrew McClune, who died in 2002. ASL interpretation will be available for this event.
Remembrance Scholar Convocation, Hendricks Chapel, 3 p.m. – This annual convocation will honor the 2022-23 Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars. ASL interpretation and CART translation will be available for this event. A reception at the SU Art Museum Galleria in the Shaffer Art Building will immediately follow.
Additionally, please look for upcoming dialogue-based events to be announced soon.