As a correction to my opinion piece in last week’s paper, March 27th. It has been brought to my attention that the University does hold memorials for students who pass while enrolled. There are letters of condolence sent from the Office of the President, Dean of Students and alumni.
Assistance in closing out student affairs is also offered by the Office of the Dean of Students.
A memorial service is also offered, that includes participation from the SGA, War Eagle Girls and Plainsmen, and that student’s respective college or school. The family is presented with a flag that was flown at Samford Hall, the Auburn Creed is read, along with “what is Auburn.” The memorial service is per the family request.
I also incorrectly listed Kyle Bois as passing away in the car wreck. Kyle was a passenger in Phillip Quinones car. Phillip was the student that passed away.
April 9, 2008 - 11:02am
Re: Everyone needs time for mourning, reflection
I just read this week the piece by Kyle Cooper and agreed there should be something done for students who die before completing their degree here. I did not realize that Auburn already does the things you name in the correction. That is good to know! A couple of other points, however. Mr. Cooper, I realize, is Assistant Photo Editor, as opposed to a content editor or General Editor, but I was a little surprised to see a couple of glaring inaccuracies in addition to a mistake that looks as though someone did not proof read because they would have seen the error. The inaccuracies are bothersome because I expect newspaper staff who write columns/opinion pieces to have a good grasp of the English language. As such, I was surprised to read the statement "I send my most sincere apology to the Burk family in the loss of their daughter." "Apology" can not be the correct word here, unless you were involved in the crime against Burk. I do not believe this to be the case. You can not apologize for what someone else did. I think you were looking for the word "condolences" or "sympathy," but not apology. Still, to me, the worst mistake in the whole column was two paragraphs down where you refer to the "tragic accident [that] happened" to Ms. Burk. Certainly, we have become a society that does not like to see bad things and evil acting people for what they are, but to call it an accident is rather outrageous. (I think we already overuse the word tragedy because it is a very safe and passive term - though it does work here.) Other appropriate words to describe this CRIME (not accident) would be deplorable, terrible, unjust, and a calamity. The last mistake noticeable was the one that was missed in the proofreading stage, where the word "in" was used when the word "end" was needed in the statement "the service would (end) with reciting the Auburn Creed." Nonetheless, it was a thought-provoking piece with some good ideas. Thanks, Amy Vaughan AU, '98