Members of the Dickinson Community gathered in the HUB Social Hall to commemorate Lauren Lau ’19 on Monday, Oct. 31. The community gathering followed Lau’s death on Sunday evening, Oct. 30.

Students filed in to the hall in complete silence. The event lasted approximately an hour and started out with a brief speech from Interim President Neil Weissman on how to ask for help in grieving.

“This is not something any of us needs to work through alone…let’s commit to doing this together,” he stated.

Before sharing memories about Lau, Donna Hughes, director of the Center for Service, Spirituality and Social Justice, called for a moment of silence.

Following the moment of silence, Teryon Lowery ’19 was the first to share his memory of Lau. He highlighted Lau’s sense of humor and his experience working with her in the Quarry.

“[She was] a genuinely nice person, there was never any façade,” he stated. “She talked to you because she wanted to [get to] know you…”

Other students shared their experiences with Lau in Alpha Phi Omega (APO), the national service fraternity. While Lau was mostly described as an introverted and shy person, she was Sergeant at Arms for APO, a position that requires reading out kind thoughts about fellow brothers, according to Epe McConnell ’19. “Her job at APO was literally to bring joy to people,” she continued.

Ann M. Hill, Lau’s advisor, also highlighted the former student’s humor and kindness.

“She was who she was… I found her sense of humor to be endearing,” she stated. “I will miss her for a long, long time.”

According to Dean of Student Life, Joyce Bylander, the college is currently working with students to honor Lau’s memory.

“[Student Life] will think about what kinds of activities might be appropriate as we try to assure that Lauren’s presence reaches into the future of this place,” she stated. “We invited students to sign up at yesterday’s memorial if they were interested in helping us think this through. We planted a tree for Jigme. Perhaps there is something we could do in conjunction with APO.”

The event concluded with Alicia Sundsmo, Executive Director for the Wellness Center, maintaining that there is no wrong way to grieve.

“In the days to come there is no right or wrong way to feel,” she expressed. Sundsmo stated that grieving can include a variety of emotions, ranging from anger, to sadness, to regret. She called for students to ask for help as grieving “is not a linear process.”

Students are encouraged to seek help from a variety of sources, such as the Wellness Center, the Center for Spirituality & Social Justice, faculty and staff mentors, college deans and staff. The Wellness Center will hold open hours from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

A formal college memorial service is tentatively slated to take place in the coming weeks.