Penn State mourns recent tragedy

Associated Press Family, friends and classmates attended an emotional memorial service and vigil Monday night, six days after Spalla, 21, was gunned down by a sniper on the lawn in front of the student union building. "One of the most honest and healthy things we can do tonight is to shed a tear,'' said Father Frederick Byrne, director of Penn State's Catholic Community. ''If your heart is broken, go ahead and cry.'' And they did. Hundreds filled Schwab Auditorium here for an hour-long service that featured the lighting of candles in honor of Spalla and Nicholas Mensah, the student who was injured in Tuesday's random attack. They cried when Jenelle Lockard, Spalla's roommate and long-time pal from Altoona, lit the first of six candles -- the candle that would later serve to light many more at the spot where Spalla fell. ''Many of us had not yet become acquainted with Melanie,'' said Graham Spanier, Penn State president. ''But we've since learned about the life that she led here, the effort she gave toward her goals, the friendships that she enjoyed and her anticipation of the future. ''All of us know she should have had much, much more of a future.'' Spanier didn't mention suspect Jillian Robbins by name, but said that everyone should pray for those ''who by virtue of a psychological impairment or an inadequacy of values have devalued human life.'' Spanier announced that a memorial scholarship had been established for a future undergraduate student in Spalla's name. A second candle was lit by Communications Professor Thomas Berner, one of Spalla's teachers and a third candle by Mensah's friend, Udene Inyang, to honor the wounded senior from Philadelphia. A fourth candle was lighted to honor Brendon Malovrh, the student who is credited for disarming the shooter and possibly saving lives, and others who showed great courage during the ordeal. ''Life is not fair,'' said Tuvia Abramson, an executive director of Penn State Hillel. ''The wrong people get sick. The wrong people get robbed. The wrong people get killed.'' William Gafkjen, campus pastor for the University's Lutheran Parish, lighted a fifth candle for the community, which is coping with a heightened knowledge of its vulnerability. Tuesday's shooting shattered the serenity of ''Happy Valley'' as no event had in recent memory. After student Nikitra Bailey, president of the Black Caucus, lit the sixth and final candle for the student body, the director of Campus Ministry encouraged everyone to be resilient. ''Violence can not destroy our resolve to be a community that honors and respects the dignity, the safety, and the worth of every human being,'' said the Rev. Edward Messersmith.