April 15, 2015
Page 13
Students
Honored
C ontinued from P age 5
following a 30-year hiatus.
Pacific chaplain Rev. Chuck
Currie, director of the universi-
ty’s Center for Peace & Spiritu-
ality, opened the ceremony with
a prayer for the two students who
were very active in their respec-
tive faith traditions. The Dilla
and Osman families listened to
reflections of their daughters and
words of support from Black Stu-
dent Union advisor Yashica Is-
land, university president Lesley
Hallick, Forest Grove mayor Pete
Truax and fellow Black Student
Union members Patrice Fuller and
Nicole George.
“We are privileged to be here
to honor the lives of Kiden Dilla
and Ayan Osman,” Hallick said.
“To recognize the service they
contributed and, in turn, to recog-
nize the tremendous community
service and outpouring of hope
and prayers and commitment that
has taken place in the memories
of both of these ladies. Pacific is
a small community and everyone
who passes through here has an
impact, but especially people like
Kiden Dilla and Ayan Osman were students at Pacific University
from Portland and Beaverton when they were killed in a car crash
near the campus last year.
Kiden and Ayan, who left us far
too soon but still made an incredi-
ble contribution to the culture and
mission of Pacific.”
Island, Fuller and George
thanked the Dilla and Osman fam-
ilies by highlighting community
service endeavors the families
embarked on in honor of Kiden
and Ayan in collaboration with
the Black Student Union. A stu-
dent-employee basketball com-
petition netted $450 for a school
in South Sudan that Kiden had
been donating her employment
earnings to. The BSU also joined
Ayan’s family in donating time
and resources to Friends of Trees,
the Oregon Food Bank, Habitat
for Humanity and others.
Located in the heart of Pacific’s
Forest Grove Campus near the
university library, the bench is a
place where community members
can take a moment to remember
Dilla, Osman and all who tragi-
cally passed away while they were
students at the university. Support
for the bench came from the Black
Student Union, Kappa Sigma
fraternity and other donors who
wished to remain anonymous.
Historic Church to be Demolished Subscribe!
503-288-0033
C ontinued from P age 5
city and state-- and this building
represents it perfectly. Help us
preserve our heritage here. Stop
selling off our city to the highest
bidder!”
In its century long run, the
church has been home to the orig-
inal Volga German congregation,
and the Gethsemane Church of
God in Christ, an African-Ameri-
can congregation.
Construction appears to have
begun Monday, but residents
are hoping that by circulating
the petition they will be able to
protect the location and allow
community members to have a
stronger say in what becomes of
the location.
To sign the petition, visit change.
org/p/commissioner-dan-saltz-
man-save-1904-king-neighbor-
hood-church-and-the-power-of-
the-historic-resources-inventory-
to-preserve-our-neighborhoods.
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