“May looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow.”

Words like these, spoken by an anonymous author, will surely ring in the minds of members of Grand Valley State University’s Laker community for the second year of a new tradition.

As part of the Founders Day celebration, the Laker Traditions team is hosting Laker Remembrance – a memorial event dedicated to honoring the students, alumni, faculty and staff who have passed away from Sept. 1 of 2013 through Aug. 31 of 2014 – reaffirming the often-repeated sentiment of “Laker for a Lifetime.”

The Laker Remembrance memorial will be held Thursday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. around the Cook Carillion Clock Tower outside of the Kirkhof Center.

The on-campus event will feature a performance from Euphoria, GVSU’s co-ed, student-run a capella group. Various members of the student body will also take an active role in the memorial event by reading poems in honor of the deceased as their names are read off, bringing a more emotive and personal connection to the night. A candlelight vigil will also take place during the ceremony, and flowers representing each individual will be placed at the base of the clock tower.

Staring on Oct. 23 and ending on Oct. 25, the Founders Day celebration was first started in 2013 as a way to commemorate the almost 300 members who founded the university, and thus started a new tradition for the on-campus population.

The first Laker Remembrance event was put on last year, with about 50 attendants participating and an opening speech from Student Senate members introducing the event and the names of those to be honored. Since the Founders Day events focus on commemorating those who have had an impact on the GVSU student body, the Laker Remembrance adds in a new aspect of the GVSU community.

Honoring the lost and commemorating their lives is at the core of Laker Remembrance.

Lois Rosinski of the Laker Traditions team is the lead coordinator for the Laker Remembrance event. She emphasizes the importance of the event.

“We are remembering those in the Laker family who are no longer with us,” Rosinski said.

By doing so, the GVSU community comes full circle in their honoring of the college’s history.

Since it is now coming up on its second year, Rosinski hopes that the event can become a regular part of the Founders Day celebration.

With time, Rosinski wants students to, “understand what it means to be a Laker for a Lifetime,” she said.

By taking part in this memorial for those who have passed on, students can experience firsthand how this motto comes to life.

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