A Day of Remembrance Message

Dear Niner Nation,

Today marks three years since the unimaginable happened on our campus on April 30, 2019.

Yesterday at 5:40 p.m., we officially marked our Day of Remembrance with a wreath laying ceremony in front of the Kennedy Building. The wreaths, one for Reed Parlier and one for Riley Howell, will remain in place until 5:40 p.m. today, which marks the approximate time of the shooting that took these young men from this community, wounded four other students – Drew, Sean, Emily and Rami – traumatized everyone in Professor Adam Johnson’s class in Kennedy 236 and affected all of Niner Nation.

I joined Charlotte nearly two years ago knowing April 30 was part of our history, part of our story. It was a day that brought both inconceivable tragedy and incredible perseverance.

When Niner Nation promised to always remember Reed and Riley, those words weren’t uttered and then forgotten. They were meant with sincerity by a community that wraps around the globe.

As I have gotten to know so many Niners, you have shared the reverence and respect you hold for this day, for our survivors and most of all for Riley and Reed and the families they left behind. I have seen it on display as you live out what it means to let something shape you, but not define you – how to take heartbreak and use it to make you stronger.

I invite you to stop by campus today if you are able to visit the wreaths in front of Kennedy or the beautiful sculpture dedicated yesterday in the Asian Garden area of the Botanical Gardens. It was inspired by the messages of remembrance and hope left on small rocks in the gardens three years ago.

Wherever this message finds you, I hope you will pause for a moment to reflect and remember the lives of Reed and Riley, the strength of our survivors and the power of Niner Nation.

Sincerely,

Sharon L. Gaber
Chancellor