Flickering in the shadow of the University’s Memorial Tower, candlelight illuminated the faces of the more than 100 students who gathered together to remember the life of Dustin “DC” Clemons.
In a week that two students have died, University administrators, leaders from Student Government and friends who loved Clemons held a candlelight vigil Tuesday night to give campus closure and pay their respects to a person who many said “lived every moment of his life to the fullest.”
Clemons, a 20-year-old mass communication sophomore, was killed early Saturday morning when he was hit by a vehicle as he crossed Nicholson Drive on foot after leaving the Tigerland area.
SG President Michelle Gieg welcomed those who attended the vigil by describing Clemons’ enthusiasm as “like a five-year-old kid who was excited about every one of his projects.”
Gieg said she felt the vigil offered students “a little more closure” because it was held on the University’s campus.
“When you drive to a memorial service, you feel distant from the situation,” Gieg said. “But this campus is where DC loved to be and where he flourished.”
Kevin Price, dean of students, spoke to students with his shirt collar sticking up — or “popped” — as a special reminder of Clemons’ fashion style.
“If we share the memories we have of [Clemons] with each other, we can help with the healing process,” Price said. “Everyone has a DC story that makes them smile. Recalling memories of him reminds us what a positive force he was.”
Price said that receiving the call telling him Clemons had been killed made last Saturday one of the hardest days in his career.
“Every one of our students is special and each one the University loses is tragic,” Price said. “We lost Kelli Williams yesterday and [Clemons] this past weekend and the University will never be the same without them.”
Williams, a secondary education senior, collapsed and died in a parking lot near the campus tennis courts Monday. Williams’ cause of death is still unknown.
Price also told students a story Tracy Leigh Clemons told to him at her only son’s memorial service Monday that he said summed up Clemons’ unique spirit.
“She told me that the day DC wore his suit backwards was one of her funniest memories of her son,” Price said. “But she also said that even while he was dressed backwards, he was moving forward.”
Chaz Caiado, a general studies sophomore and close friend of Dustin Clemons, asked students to tell those they love how they feel because they might not have another chance.
“When someone leaves us, you look back and smile, but you also wish you could go back and do it again,” Caiado said. “Tell someone you love them because you just never know.”
As a slight breeze snuffed out the candle he was holding, Brad Golson, former student body president, challenged students to live each day of their lives as though it were their last.
“DC realized that tomorrow is not a given,” Golson said. “Each day that we have is another chance to make someone smile.”
In the final moments of the vigil, droplets of rain sprinkled the crowd, seeming to highlight the sorrow felt by those gathered.
Members of Phi Mu Alpha, a music fraternity, blinked away the poetically placed rain drops as they sang the University’s alma mater in honor of Dustin Clemons.
“Now is the time to take the time to discover each of our special gifts,” Price said. “We never have enough time to appreciate those around us.”