USC students seek normalcy following shooting

University of South Carolina students in the Arnold School of Public Health faced a somber reminder of a lost life when they arrived at classes Monday.

They were returning for the first time since the school was closed Thursday afternoon following a shooting that claimed the life of a distinguished professor.

Awaiting them were flowers, chalk writings and signs that were hung to keep the memory of 45-year-old Raja Fayad’s time with the university alive. Fayad was shot and killed by his 46-year-old ex-wife Sunghee Kwon inside of the public health building before she shot and killed herself.

First year grad student Anthony Crimarco, 26, said the return to classes is somewhat surreal and that many professors who teach in the building have had a difficult time with the loss of a faculty member.

“It’s a reminder that even though we live in a bubble here on campus, it is accessible to anyone. It’s quite easy for anyone to walk into a building with a firearm,” Crimarco said. “But, despite the worries of another incident happening, or not, I trust the university’s system enough to feel secure.”

Crimarco said moving forward, the best thing for the community to do is to remember and honor the life of Fayad while still carrying out a sense of normalcy. It was a sentiment shared by many students who attend classes in the public health building.

Senior public health major Kelsey Davis, 22, said the atmosphere among the students in her afternoon class was pretty normal because the shooting didn’t happen on the floor that her class was being held. But, the incident did still linger in her mind.

“It was a little weird coming back to the building knowing that it did happen here,” Davis said. “Our teacher started the class asking if anyone had issues that they wanted to talk about. She sent out an email before saying that it was going to be a light lecture today.”

Sophomore exercise science major Sara Desmarais, 19, said she was in the building on Sunday for a study session before students came back to classes. She said the faculty has been catering to the students’ emotional needs to make sure normalcy resumed.

“Everyone has been really good at making sure we feel comfortable coming back to the building,” Desmarais said. “We did, more or less, feel comfortable since it was an isolated incident. No one spoke up and said “I don’t feel comfortable” being in the building. We know it’s safe.”

This story was originally published February 9, 2015 at 4:23 PM.