Fairfield University is the last place we would expect to deal with the tragic events we met when returning from Columbus Day weekend.
Disbelief, anger and grief are just a few of the emotions that any number of us felt when we heard news of Mark Fisher’s death. For those close to Mark, the sense of loss that must be felt is impossible for anyone else to comprehend.
An eerie feeling has blanketed our 200 acres since Sunday. The cheers and screaming accompanying previous Yankees-Red Sox games had evaporated Monday night, and newspaper and television reporters from all over the tri-state area scoured campus Tuesday for information about Mark’s life at Fairfield.
Still, life went on here, albeit in a more reserved manner. Professors discussed the news in classes and this tragedy was fresh in the minds of students everywhere.
But as life goes on in the wake of events like this, it can never go on exactly as we knew it before. In a community as close-knit as ours, even those of us who didn’t know Mark feel impacted by his loss. Besides occasionally passing him in Kostka Hall, I never met Mark, but I cannot possibly put into words the grief I saw in people I know who were friends with him. The sudden death of a loved one is something only those who have experienced can begin to comprehend.
Unfortunately, I’ve had such an experience. Just over three and a half years ago, as a senior in high school, my father died unexpectedly of a heart attack. That is why I say life here can never go on exactly as we knew it before; my own life has been drastically different than what it would have been if I hadn’t lost my dad, and I’ve had almost four years to try to deal with it. I’m pretty confident in saying it will be at least a few more years before I can attain any sense of closure.
By remembering and celebrating Mark’s life, most of us can hopefully get some closure in the wake of this ordeal. Undoubtedly, the process will be much more difficult for his friends and family. But at Fairfield University, which embraces the Jesuit saying “men and women for others,” the pain, grief and shock accompanying such a tragedy is shared by us all.
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