Members of Southern’s community gathered on Wednesday, Sept. 19, to offer prayer and support to Oakwood and Andrew universities’ campuses after their individual losses.
Oakwood lost sophomore theology major Carvell Goodlow. Goodlow was shot off-campus on Sunday, Sept. 16, and later died from his injuries. Andrews lost a student a few weeks ago, and last week an Andrews professor died after being hit on his bike by a drunk driver.
Chaplain Anna Bennett and Student Association President Rhidge Garcia both offered remarks and prayer during the event.
“The prayer vigil was a powerful moment for many Southern students, especially me,” Garcia said. “The weight of grief can be, at times, too large to bear. But in unified prayer, the weight becomes lighter and our hope grows deeper.”
Bennett believes that the gathering was something simple that many could participate in to offer support to Southern’s sister institutions. She said that when talking with administrators from Oakwood they provided a list of specific prayer requests and expressed how grateful they were for the support.
“The prayer vigil was really hard for me,” Bennett said. “I was really emotional because I’m tired of losing students.”
Students then signed banners for both schools and signed a basketball in memory of Goodlow.
On Thursday Sept. 20, a few students from Southern traveled down to Oakwood to attend a memorial service for Goodlow.
Members of the Student Association drove down to Oakwood Saturday, Sept. 22. They met with Oakwood’s student government, the United Student Movement and stayed for a school volleyball game. After the game, they presented the banner and signed basketball to the school ahead of a memorial basketball game for Goodlow, the Carvell Classic.
“It was nice to be able to hang out with them after everything they’ve been through. It honestly didn’t even feel like we were two universities,” said Kahelena Giltner, SA public relations manager. It was a great experience to see how their USM works and compare that to our roles as an SA on campus at Southern.”
Garcia expressed similar sentiments.
“Our trip to Oakwood was full of comfort, laughter, and fun,” he said. “The students attending the basketball game received the banner and basketball very well! Their SA President extended his sincerest gratitudes to Southern, knowing that he has a family here.”
Image credit: Tierra Hayes