SUDC Remembrance Week 

On Tuesday, October 20, the Syracuse University Washington, DC Center hosted an Evening of Remembrance during Remembrance Week to honor the lives lost in the December 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Former Remembrance Scholars and friends of the victims gathered to commemorate the 270 people killed in the tragedy, including 35 students returning from Syracuse University abroad programs.  

The event brought together alumni from 36 years of Syracuse University graduating classes, from 1990 to 2026. Nayyera Haq, assistant dean for Washington programs at the Maxwell School, moderated the program and opened with reflections on the bombing’s enduring impact. “For a shocked world, the bombing of Pan Am 103 changed the way we look at aviation and travel safety forever,” Haq said. “For the loved ones and families of the 270 victims, it changed the very makeup of their families, traditions, and futures.” 

The evening highlighted the Remembrance Scholarship program, which Syracuse University created to honor the students lost in the bombing by selecting 35 seniors to represent each of the student victims. In her opening remarks, Assistant Dean Haq reflected on the motto of the program: “Look back, act forward,” which she described as “a charge that has united generations of Scholars who move through the world holding the memories of those we lost.” 

Guests introduced themselves and shared their connections to the victims, to Lockerbie, and to Syracuse. Seven current Remembrance Scholars participated in the program, with several sending reflections on their experiences representing  student victims and others participating in a question and answer session with guests. 

Attendees also watched an excerpt from the October 18th Remembrance Vigil on Syracuse’s main campus, during which the names of all 270 victims were read aloud. 

The event was organized by Cameron MacPherson, a 2015-16 Remembrance Scholar and Senior Director of DC Operations and Government Affairs. “As a former Remembrance Scholar, it was incredibly meaningful to see our community come together hundreds of miles from campus,” MacPherson said. “Remembering is a duty we share as a University and as Scholars, and this evening showed that duty doesn't end at graduation or at the edge of campus.”