Life After a Tragedy
Homecoming was supposed to be a fun time for all of the students at BSU. Instead of using Thursday night to rest, I was was alarmed by the news that my soror had shared with me. She had just seen a student dying on the ground…right outside of her apartment. My roommate and I quickly contacted all of our friends and my sorority sisters, happy to learn that they were all well. Shortly after, we learned that Dominque Frazier had passed away.
This tragic event shook our residence hall to the core. For starters, each residence hall is a tight family unit. Usually, each member of this family takes care of another. This was evident as we sat in the CLT the night of the murder. It was a solemn time, with residents hugging each other and sharing tears. As we were able to return to the building, it was still weird to know that our second floor is a crime scene! We could not enter through the front door of the building because of caution tape. We also were trying to avoid the many (annoying) reporters. All of this died down after Dominique was funeralized.
Moving on is a slow process that each student has managed to achieve one day at a time. I recently went to my soror’s room for the first time since the incident. Scared to do so before, I looked down the hallway by Dominique’s apartment. I expected to have a spooky feeling overcome me, but all I felt was peace. It symbolized the fact that death, anger, and violence did not belong within our safe haven. Just as the hallway physically looked like new, We have turned a new leaf. As we continue to love one another and unite as a family, there can be life after a tragedy.