Musicians from University Bands perform at Monday’s Golden Taps ceremony honoring the six Purdue Students who passed away between December and April.
By Craig Davison Features Editor
The Bell Tower began to ring, echoing loudly, slowly, six times.
One for Garrett Williams, a senior in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics; another for Muhammad Bengali, a junior in the College of Agriculture; and for Faizan Sewani, a junior in the College of Science; Shane Partin, a senior in the College of Liberal Arts; Konstantine Aliferakis, a freshman in the College of Engineering; and Frank Nuzzo, a freshman in the Undergraduate Studies Program.
The bells rang in front of a hushed crowd of family and friends assembled on the steps of Hovde Hall for these six students who died this semester. They gathered for the Golden Taps ceremony, held every April and November to honor Purdue students who passed away.
In between the tolls of the bells, memories were echoing stories about the loved ones lost.
Then two bugle players, at both sides of the bereaved, played "Taps," the two parts coming together as the notes reached those standing in between. In front of them sat a sign with each name next to the Boilermaker Special, which gleamed in the pale yellow light. At a crescendo in the song, the fountain stopped. The Purduettes finished the ceremony with "The Purdue Hymn."
Kristin Maurer didn’t know the words to the hymn. But she knew someone who did.
Shane Partin used to sing along with the hymn and Purdue’s fight song at football games as Maurer, a 2004 graduate from the College of Liberal Arts, and her friends would mouth words, trying to go along with it.
"I was at Purdue for five years, and I can’t say I know anyone who loved Purdue more," said Maurer. Partin would playfully mock them for not knowing their school’s songs.
Family members echoed similar sentiments; that Partin was the kind of guy who bled old gold and black.
Partin died Feb. 19 from complications of a congenital heart disease.
Partin was Maurer’s fiance, and was to graduate this May, 11 years after first attending the University he loved.
Partin’s mother, Karen McKeehan, said he had to take time off to work his way through school, but he kept coming back like a prodigal son.
Before the ceremony, Tony Hawkins, dean of students, spoke to the gathered about their loved ones’ continued connection to Purdue and gave family members a certificate afterward to further remember that connection.
Betsy Smithka, ceremony coordinator and associate dean of students, said the ceremony shows how each student is valued as an individual and how the Purdue community comes together. But she wishes the community didn’t have to in such a way.
"It is an event we would like to cancel," she said.
While the ceremony is sadly necessary this semester, the event is not one for closure; it is a time to honor and remember.
After the Purduettes finished their a cappella hymn, the last event of the evening, the snare drummers accompanying the bugle players began to play the a simple beat and walked into the night, the drums slowly fading away until everything was silent.
