Former Ole Miss Students Remembered, Mourned at University Memorial Ceremony

Paris-Yates Chapel; Photo from olemiss.edu/chapel

Every year since the Paris-Yates Chapel has been constructed, the University of Mississippi Student Affairs department has put on the University Memorial Ceremony.  Students, faculty, and Oxford citizens alike can attend the event, where recently passed University of Mississippi students and faculty are remembered and mourned.

Ty Allushuski, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, will be heading the event for the first time this year.  “The University Memorial service is an annual event to honor students, faculty, staff, and emeriti who have passed away during the current school year,” Allushuski said.

The service is free and open to the public, according to Allushuski, but seating will be limited. Allushuski said he appreciates the goal of the service, which is to “honor and remember those whom we have lost during the past year.”

It is a day to remember their contributions, and celebrate their lives,” Allushuski said.

Dr. Linda Spargo, the special projects coordinator for the chancellor’s office, has headed the event for the past couple of years. “It was at the suggestion of Sparky Reardon that we have a way to honor, and come together as a community to remember those people that were very important to us,” Spargo said.

The ceremony is short, Spargo said, but it’s very spiritual. “We always do it the last week of classes, so anyone who has lost somebody they know can attend,” Spargo said.

“We have flowers and a beautiful bowl that has water in it.  We read off each of the names, and as each name is called, a family member can come up and place a flower in the water,” Spargo said.

The event will be held on Thursday, May 5 at 4 p.m. at the Paris-Yates Chapel, and is open to the public. Visit olemiss.edu for more information.

Taylor Lust is an intern with hottytoddy.com and is a student at The Meek School of Journalism and New Media.

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