Manchester University plans Wednesday memorial

The following email was sent to the Manchester community by President Dave McFadden on Tuesday, Feb. 23:

Dear friends,

A memorial service to remember the three students we lost so tragically Sunday morning, Nerad Mangai, Brook Dagnew and Kirubel Hailu, will begin at 7 p.m. tomorrow evening (Wednesday, Feb. 24) in Cordier Auditorium. 

The service will honor the lives and cultural heritage of these wonderful young people.

The Manchester University community welcomes anyone who would like to attend. To respect the dignity of the service and the feelings of those who are grieving, we are strictly prohibiting the use of cameras and recording devices, including cellphone cameras and video, at this service. 

We also want to ensure that anyone in the MU community who wants to attend the service is free of any obligation to attend class, a lab, an athletic practice or student activity during this time. Therefore, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, all classes and laboratories on the North Manchester campus are cancelled.

Please continue to hold in your prayers Israel Tamire, hospitalized at Lutheran in Fort Wayne, as well as the three other students involved in the accident, Nebiyu Alemu, Amanuel Gebreyohannes and Dagmawi Tadesse. They are enduring a particularly challenging kind of grief and will continue to need our love and support in the days and weeks ahead. 

As of now, the weather forecast is calling for a blustery Wednesday with rain changing to snow in the early evening. If attending the service requires you to travel, please allow yourself plenty of time and stay safe.

And don’t forget to check MU Today regularly for additional information and announcements.

Thank you,

Dave McFadden
President

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