Silence hung over Pepperdine’s campus following the deaths of four seniors, Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams on Oct. 17. At community events in the days following the tragedy, including The Well on Oct. 18, and a prayer service Oct. 19, crying could be heard from within the quiet crowd. Since the girls’ deaths, campus groups, including the Student … [Read more...] about Events Held as Pepperdine Continues to Mourn the Loss of Four Seniors
Our Girls
The Power of an Empty Chair: How Pepperdine Professors are Coping with Loss
Class after class, professors are used to seeing the same students, in the same seats. Some students talk more than others, but each one has a value, purpose and place in the classroom.And then — after a tragedy, their seats are empty, and professors can distinctly tell the community is missing someone. “Often, professors are expected to be immediately OK, mature … [Read more...] about The Power of an Empty Chair: How Pepperdine Professors are Coping with Loss
Community Contribution: Community Remembers a Bright Light Asha Weir
My Dearest Asha, I find myself sitting down to write this letter, my heart heavy with the void your absence has left in my life and in our beloved Alpha Phi sisterhood. I miss you more than words can express, and it's been a journey of profound sorrow and reflection since that fateful day when you were taken from us far too soon. You were not just my big sister in Alpha Phi; … [Read more...] about Community Contribution: Community Remembers a Bright Light Asha Weir
This is Our Worship: A Message from Sara Barton
Grief is destabilizing. And because it’s destabilizing, uncomfortable and a host of other things, we sometimes feel that it is also bad, perhaps something to be ashamed of, or to rush past, or to fix with shallow religious answers. But as uncomfortable and unwelcome as it is, what if grief is the seed of healing? What if seasons of grief are not a sign of a lack of faith … [Read more...] about This is Our Worship: A Message from Sara Barton
Community Contribution: A World Without You
moments i’m alone, left to my own, i get visions of you — your face, your voice, your love. how close your heart was to your head and how you took every situation with a teaspoon of level-headedness. there’s a jack-o'-lantern head covering the 76 gas station sign off sunset. i drive to class, hoping to see you on the way to meet me, sipping tea. from … [Read more...] about Community Contribution: A World Without You