Tears and remembrance

As the sun set over the University of South Carolina campus Monday, candles held by students illuminated a somber scene.

Six black wreaths adorned with garnet bows stood in a semi-circle, flanking a single, purple wreath with a white ribbon and an orange rose.

Tri-Delts in matching blue jerseys, sorority sisters of three victims of Sunday’s deadly beach house fire, hugged each. SAEs in jackets and ties remained stoic but shaken at the loss of two brothers.

Scores of students circled them on Greene Street.“I’m just trying to understand what happened,” 19-year-old USC student Tim Cline of Niagara Falls, N.Y., said. “As bad as you feel, it’s helps to be part of something bigger.”

The wreaths and a growing circle of flowers mark tragedy. Seven young lives taken. Six friends from USC, one from Clemson on a weekend getaway.

About 300 students packed the Russell House ballroom before the vigil to hear from student leaders and USC President Andrew Sorensen. Several hundred more in the student center and watched on closed circuit TV.

“We all grieve in different ways,” Sorensen said. “But, please, reach out to each other.”

— Jeff Wilkinson