University of South Carolina: FOREVER TO THEE

Nicholas Payne, student body president, speaks about the impact on South Carolina's 27,000 students.

November 7, 2007

Remarks by Nicholas Payne, student body president

Greetings:

I come to you today as one who still searches for answers, beseeching peace, a representative of 27,000 others, but most importantly as just another student. I feel so deeply sorry for the families and the friends of those who lost loved ones, far too early. And I know that here at Carolina, we are not the only ones feeling this pain, our friends at Clemson are experiencing the heartache of their own loss. Today we are all Carolinians.

As students, we are all here on separate but even more similar paths. We study and go to class, we learn and develop as scholars, but perhaps even more importantly, we make friends, we laugh, we love, we start to understand what our purpose is. Allie, Cassidy, Lauren, Justin, Travis and Will did, too. They did all of these things, even in their short time here. Your presence today is proof.

My fellow students, each one of us has something in common ... one thing that all of us share: it is that WE are the future. Indeed the future is our entire purpose for being at the university, to prepare for the day when we will be counted on by others to set standards, reach goals, and one day make this world we live in a better place. We are future teachers, doctors, businessmen and women, lawyers, scientists ... perhaps we have yet to realize what is exactly we have been called to do.

For the friends we've lost, the future can't fulfill its promises to them. But I take great comfort knowing that their time here was full. For though we recognize the importance of the years yet to come, as students at the University of South Carolina, our present day is filled with rich experiences. You know, sometimes it is called our tragic flaw, but I believe it is our greatest attribute--we live in the present. We live every single minute of our lives to the absolute fullest.

When I was in the mountains this past weekend, I sat outside, gazed toward the blue ridges that seemed to pierce the sky and I thought. I thought about why I was there. Why with those people? That is when it hit me, like nothing else had before: this is what true friendship was all about. Knowing that you could sit around and do absolutely nothing with these people and still have fun, knowing that you can let down your barriers and be yourself, knowing that the people around you mean more to you than anything else in life right now. Whether you are sharing good times at the Village Idiot grabbing a pizza, or at Williams-Brice, cheering on our Gamecocks, we always seem to be doing it with our best of friends. I know that this is what any one of these seven students would tell you, though in college for such a short period of time, they laughed, they had fun, and they met best friends and I am sure they ate pizza.

I can't know why these students' lives ended when they did, but I do know that I am blessed to be here, the six survivors of the fire are all blessed to be here, we are all very blessed to be standing here today. And I'm certain that we are better for having known these students, who offered us their friendship, their laughter and their love. And having received those gifts, I know we'll continue to lead our lives the way they did--freely, joyously, fully.

So let us no longer despair over the loss of our friends and fellow Carolinians, rather let us stand together to greet the future, and help one another achieve those goals that we have set before ourselves. If there is one thing that I have learned since being here at Carolina, it is that one person cannot do it alone, so let us realize right now, how precious our time together is, this very day, this very second.

Let us not forget these lives that have been lost, let us hold them in our thoughts, our prayers, our hearts. Let's carry on the day as if they are the ones pushing us to do so.

And finally, let us remember that the moments that we spend in college, the memories we create, the lives we lead, no matter how brief … those are never wasted--they will always be cherished.

Remarks by Nicholas Payne, student body president

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