By Spencer Buell
Editor-in-Chief

Ashley Donahue and her friend Holly Benson.

The campus is in mourning this week, as the FSU community comes to terms with the loss of a classmate, a roommate, a fellow dancer and a friend.

At a series of campus events in her honor, friends and family celebrated the memory of sophomore Ashley Donahue, who was killed in a tragic car accident early Saturday morning.

Donahue was an avid dancer and member of FSU’s Dance Team, and the club’s performance Thursday night went on as scheduled, as it will Saturday night. The event, titled “FSU Dance Presents: Celebrate America” was dedicated to Donahue’s memory, and audience members were given blue ribbons to wear.

“We present this evening’s performance to you with a heavy heart,” said Dance Team President Alex Bushery said at the beginning of the evening. “We dedicate this performance to Ashley and her family. She was a really, really big part of all of our lives. We’re happy that you were all able to make it tonight to help us celebrate her.”

The team then presented a slide show of pictures “to honor Ashley’s life and memory” Bushery said.

After the performance, Bushery reflected on the event, and said, “it was a really rough week because we had a lot of last-minute changes here and there and, emotionally, we were all just kind of trying to help each other out. It was definitely tough, but we made it. We pulled it together for Ashley.”

She said the team wanted to make sure “everybody was okay and that we were stable to get through the week without breaking down. I think we did a pretty good job.”

In a Facebook status update before the show, dance team member Emily Zarnoch said, “Tonight we dance for those that cannot dance with us. We must spin faster, kick higher, leap farther. Remember that She will be watching us! When you feel Her presence on the stage it is because She is there to catch us before we fall, and to remind us to smile. So lets all smile brighter to remind Her we’re thinking of Her; lets smile brighter to light the stage the way She would, and lets smile as brightly as She would, if it’s possible.”

Friends remember Donahue as a kind and likeable person who loved to spend time at the beach and made friends easily. A communication arts student, friends say Donahue had planned to pursue a career in event planning and dreamed of working for Disney.

At the site of the accident at the corner of Badger and Salem End roads two miles from the FSU campus, Donahue’s parents, Paul and Patricia Donahue, have affixed a Mickey Mouse doll as a tribute to their daughter’s passion for all things Disney, along with a photo of their daughter and a letter in memoriam.

In their letter, Donahue’s parents wrote, “From the moment we first held you in our arms, you were our ‘Precious Baby Doll.’ You brought us immeasurable joy every day of your life and we are so proud of everything you accomplished. You were a bright, kind, fun loving girl that instantly melted people with your smile. We will think of you every moment of every day for the rest of our lives.”

Seven of Donahue’s friends, Courtney Durant, Kim Medeiros, Kelsey Lynch, Allison Reid, Taylor DeGrenier, Holly Benson and Francheska Santiago, with whom she shared a room in Linsley Hall, collaborated in writing a statement for the community.

The women have dubbed themselves “Team Ashley,” and wore hand-made blue t-shirts to an FSU men’s basketball game and the Dance Team’s Thursday night performance.

Benson and Santiago, along with students Brooke Uttley and Dylan Cosford, had been travelling in the car with Donahue the night of the accident, but all reportedly sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Comm. Arts Professor Christopher Bowen, said he first met Donahue in September of this year when she was a student in his Writing for Visual Media class. He remembers that “she always had a smile on her face” and that she “projected positive and happy energy. … Her writing was always fun and imaginative. I teased her about how large and swoopy her handwriting was. She was clearly well-liked by her classmates.

“I’m very much saddened at her untimely passing. I care about all of my students, and to have someone so young and full of promise to be taken so unexpectedly is just tragic. I miss her.”

At a prayer vigil in DPAC Tuesday night organized by FSU’s Catholic Newman club and SGA, a long line of students walked slowly into the auditorium past a series of easels covered in photographs of Ashley on vacation, at family gatherings and spending time with friends. Hundreds lined up to contribute to a remembrance book in which they penned memories of Ashley and messages for the Donahue family.

During the ceremony, many of her family members and friends shared stories about growing up with Donahue or about meeting her at FSU with an audience which packed the auditorium.

Although no one in Catholic Newman had been close with Donahue, said Kim Bowler, the club’s vice president, “We knew that if we had lost a friend, as Ashley’s friends did, it would be difficult to plan something like that, so we wanted to be the ones to … step up and take that challenge.”

She said she wanted to commend the efforts of other student organizations and individuals who contributed to planning the remembrance event. “We wanted to show that the whole FSU community cares about [the Donahue family] and we wanted to be there for them during this tough time. … Everyone came together to create something beautiful.”

Students Anthony Pires, Jr. and Barbara Pierre began the ceremony with an a capella rendition of “Amazing Grace.” Before the two concluded the evening by performing “Lean on Me,” Pires, Jr. told the audience, “When you leave today, just always think about that – you have someone to lean on.”

A row of blue hydrangeas was placed in front of the podium on the auditorium stage behind a photo of Donahue at the beach. Junior Brittany Stockwell said friends had told her Donahue “loved the color blue” and “had wanted blue hydrangeas at her wedding someday.”

Stockwell said she wanted to assist her grieving friends in commemorating Donahue’s life by helping to make arrangements for the flowers and gathering photos for a series of collages. She also performed a short violin piece on stage at the vigil, which she called “the hardest performance I have ever done.”

She said she also hung baby blue ribbons on doorways all around campus in the hope that “not only those who knew Ashley would notice them, but also students who may not have known her, and that maybe everyone would take a moment to reflect on what happened and the loss many on campus feel. Many students refer to their friends as ‘FRAMily’ here because the school is so small, and I think that is felt more than ever during this time of tragedy.”

Stockwell said she did not know Donahue as well as did some of her closer friends, but remembers that “she always had a smile on her face. She was always in a good mood and had a childlike spirit that put anyone around her in a good mood as well. It really isn’t any overstatement to say that anyone that met her couldn’t help but love her and appreciate her friendship instantly. She will never be forgotten.”

FSU President Timothy Flanagan, addressing the DPAC crowd he later guessed was over 500 strong, said, “In any university, words are the stuff of education. … Tonight is one of those occasions when words fail us. Words really don’t do justice to what we’re feeling. Your presence here tonight speaks louder than any words can speak about how we feel about Ashley Donahue and the thoughts and prayers we share with her family. We are grateful that you are here with us tonight.”

In an e-mail sent to students Wednesday, Flanagan thanked them for attending. “I know that Ashley’s parents and loved ones greatly appreciated the wonderful outpouring of love for their daughter, and they were comforted to be among Ashley’s many friends.”

SGA President Hannah Bruce, in a speech at the vigil, said, “As we remember a life lost too soon, let us take the time to cherish our own lives and those who make our days brighter. Ashley has proven to all of us how one life can positively impact many, and it is through her that we can learn how truly precious life is. During these difficult times, always remember to reach out to those around you and support one another. By coming together as a community, we can ensure that Ashley’s memory will forever live on and that her presence will always be felt on our campus.”

At a men’s basketball game against Wheaton College one hour before the vigil, students were invited to attend and wear white. Teammates wore white sweatbands on their left arms and paused for a moment of silence before the game.

Over 200 students attended the event, and Rico DePaolis, a junior and a guard for the Rams, who helped organize a Facebook group to mobilize students, said the crowd for the game doubled that night.

“It was an awesome thing to see,” said Depaolis. “So many people were affected because it hits so close to home.”

Paul Welch, director of FSU’s Counseling Center, said he wants grieving students to know that, “first of all, we are here for [you].”

He encouraged students to reach out to the Counseling Center, if need be, to “take full advantage of” on-campus resources and to reach out to trusted friends and staff and faculty members. The Counseling Center is open from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 p. m., and Welch said students can “walk in anytime.”

He added, “These are hard moments, but this can be a time for people to stop and ‘take stock’ – take every second we can to learn from this, to appreciate life and to be kind to one another.”

[Editor’s Note:] Gatepost Editor Kathleen McDonough contributed to this article.