Charge On!

Less than two weeks ago the lives of the students and faculty at the University of Alabama in Huntsville were rocked by tragedy. I am not a UAH student, but I have many friends that are, including my best friend, and spend a lot of time on their campus. And after hearing of the actions of UAHuntsville's president David Williams, I feel more a part of the community than him.
Last Friday's memorial service was a time to cry together, smile together, and most importantly, come together. Apparently, Williams thought the most appropriate response was to encourage the community to "move on." Keep in mind this memorial service came just one short week after Dr. Amy Bishop, for reasons yet to be discovered, took a gun and killed three faculty members, wounding three others, two of which are still in the hospital. Keep in mind the tragedy took place at a school, one of the few places most people believe they can feel truly safe. Keep in mind there were people there in the building shocked, scared, and confused. And his solution? Move on?
I don't know the origin of the "Charge On" mantra, but I do feel it is a better representation of what the UAH community needs. Students will walk into classes and not see the same great professors in the front. They will not be able to "move on," to forget who once stood there. At these moments, the students need to support the substitutes and do their best in honor of their former professors' memories. They need to charge on.
When students see the memorials to the victims set up on campus or walk into the Shelby Center, they will not be able to set aside the memories of what happened in that place, but they can renew their pride in their school, in being a Charger. They can charge on!
I cannot imagine what the students and faculty of UAH went through. It is probably still hard for them to wrap their minds around it. I also have no psychology or counseling degree. But I am a student somewhere, and I have talked to university students. What the students and faculty need now is not a mental eraser, but a mental conviction to show the world that the University of Alabama in Huntsville can rise above tragedy and come out stronger in the end. Don't move on, CHARGE ON!