Remembering Ying Wu and Ming Qu

Memorial Service for Ying Wu and Ming Qu
Shrine Auditorium
April 18, 2012
By C. L. Max Nikias
President

We have gathered this evening to honor the lives and the memories of Ying Wu and Ming Qu.

And yet, how can we accord them the respect and reflection they deserve when we are beset with unresolved grief?  When we are consumed by unresolved anger and unresolved questions?

How can we make sense of the senseless?

There are no simple answers to our questions.  But the one thing that is clear is that we must come together.  To share.  To remember.  And to heal.

There is no pain, no trial, no tragedy worse than to see a young member of one’s family taken away before his or her time.  And recently, our USC Trojan Family has experienced such a loss.

Before the horrific event of last week, Ying Wu and Ming Qu were known as serious, committed and bright members of our family.  They were second-year graduate students in electrical engineering, and they couldn’t wait to open the doors of opportunity that their education would offer them.

Ying was born to parents from China’s Hunan province.  Ming was born to parents from China’s Jilin province.  Both traveled thousands of miles to this country to further their education and follow their aspirations.  They became inseparable friends.

And both came to USC, as thousands do every year from around the world, determined in their pursuits and undaunted by the challenges so many students face in a new land.

I know something of the life they lived, because my wife and I were once them.  Niki and I came to America decades ago, as graduate students, for much the same reason as they did:  because we dreamed of the better life through better education.

There is a loneliness of being a student in a land, away from the comfort and support of family, that many of you here know firsthand.  But when you came to Los Angeles, you became more than a resident of a very large metropolis.  You became more than a student of a major university.

You, like Ying and Ming, became a member of the sacred Trojan Family.  This Trojan Family includes 3,000 outstanding students from China and Taiwan, and many thousands of distinguished Chinese alumni on both sides of the Pacific.

This global family stands together.  This family perseveres together.  And yes, this family sheds tears together.  But it also comes together and consoles together.

Our worldwide Trojan Family grieves both here and in more than 100 other nations.  Tragic events crystallize the true character of a community, and this ordeal has brought the Trojan Family closer together.

Ying and Ming, what can we say to you now?

The flower of your youth has been cruelly uprooted, torn away from you in the darkness of night.  We wish that we could comfort you.  We wish that we could restore you.  But we can promise that we will always remember you.

Your heart-wrenching loss reminds us that while our lives may be fragile and fleeting, our bonds are eternal and enduring.

To honor your memory in perpetuity, the University of Southern California will establish the “Ming Qu and Ying Wu Memorial Scholarship Fund” that will award two scholarships every year in your names.

The holders of these scholarships will embody your qualities that were so revered and endeared by your family, friends, and fellow students:  unrestrained intelligence, unbounded drive, unyielding ambition, unassailable accomplishment, and uncompromising kindness.

This scholarship fund will also ensure that your dreams live on forever, through opportunities that it opens up for other students.

We can further honor your memory by committing ourselves to building a better city and a better world, in which our children are safe to grow, to discover, to love, and to reach their fullest potential.

To Mr. Wu and Ms. Yin – Ying’s parents – and to Mr. Qu and Ms. Fei – Ming’s parents – you have our deepest sympathies.  We share your grief, which weighs heavily on our hearts.  We share your loss, which weighs heavily on our university and its hundreds of thousands of alumni and supporters around the world.

But we also share what your children gave us, which enriched our lives immeasurably and indelibly.  May Ying and Ming rest in peace, now and forever. 

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吴颖和瞿铭追悼会
圣殿礼堂
2012年4月18日
C. L. Max Nikias
校长

{C}

{C} {C} 今晚我们聚集在此悼念吴颖和瞿铭.

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{C} {C} 然而，当我们沉浸在这无法释怀的悲伤中时，当我们被无法释怀的愤怒和未解决的问题所噬啮时，我们如何向他们表达我们的敬意与缅怀之情？

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{C} {C} 我们如何理解这种无情的暴力行为？

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{C} {C} 问题的答案似乎并不简单。

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{C} {C}

但有一点很明确，那就是我们必须团结一致，共同表达我们的怀念之情，这样才能早日抚平心中的伤痛。

{C}

{C} {C} 我想世间再没有比亲历家中的小辈早殇更令人悲痛不已的事了。{C} {C} {C} 近日，我们的南加州大学特洛伊家庭就经历了一次这样的悲痛事件。

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{C} {C} 在上周的恐怖事件发生前，吴颖和瞿铭是我们的大家庭中认真、忠诚并且前程似锦的年轻一代。{C}{C} {C}{C} {C}{C} 他们是电气工程专业二年级研究生，他们还没来得及开启教育之路为其敞开的机会大门就过早地陨落了。

{C}

{C} {C} 颖出生于中国湖南省。铭出生于中国吉林省。{C}{C} {C}{C} {C}{C} 两个年轻人不远万里到这里求学并实现心中的梦想。他们成为了形影不离的挚友。

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正如每年从世界各地到南加州大学求学的数以万计的学生一样，他们面对的是一个充满新挑战的陌生环境，为了追求心中的梦想，他们在面对挑战时表现出百折不挠的精神。

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我了解他们的生活状况，因为我和我的妻子也是这样一路走过来的。与他们一样，Niki和我希望能通过求学过上更好的生活，因此十多年前我俩大学毕业后就来到了美国。

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{C} {C}

远离了家庭生活的温馨和家人的支持，我们的亲身体验就是陌生环境下的留学生生活充满了孤独感。{C}

{C} {C} 但当你来到了洛杉矶，你不仅仅是居住在喧嚣拥挤的大都市的一员。{C} {C} {C} 你也不仅仅只是一所著名大学的学生。

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{C} {C} 你与颖和铭一样，都是神圣的特洛伊家庭的一员。{C}{C} {C}{C} {C}{C} 这个特洛伊家庭的成员包括来自中国和台湾的3000名优秀学生以及太平洋两岸数万名最杰出的中国校友。{C} {C} {C}

这个国际大家庭风雨同路，团结一心。{C}

{C} {C} 这个大家庭自强不息。{C} {C} {C} 的确，我们的这个家庭同悲同泣、团结一致、互相安慰。

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{C} {C} 我们的国际特洛伊家庭不仅在这里，同时在其它100多个国家共同表达我们的悲恸之情{C}{C} {C}{C} {C}{C} 。{C}{C} {C}{C} {C}{C} 此次悲剧事件体现了社区的真实状况，而这场严峻的考验使特洛伊家庭更加团结。

 

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{C} {C}

颖和铭，现在我们能对你们说些什么呢？

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{C} {C}

你们在如花般的年纪遭遇暴力事件并永远地离开了我们。{C}

{C} {C} 真希望能抚慰你们的伤痛并让你们回到我们身边。尽管这只是一个美好的愿望，但你们将永远活在我们心中。

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你们的离去让我们痛彻心扉，但同时也让我们明白了一点：尽管我们的生命可能很脆弱且转瞬即逝，但我们之间共同的纽带必将长存不衰。

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{C} {C} 为了永远缅怀你们，南加州大学将设立“瞿铭和吴颖纪念奖学金基金会”，并以你们的名义每年评选两次奖学金{C}{C} {C}{C} {C}{C} 。

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奖学金获得者将代表你们身上的优秀品质，受家人、朋友及学生们的广泛尊敬和喜爱：具有过人的才智、活力无限、不屈不挠的毅力、至高成就以及坚定的仁慈之心。

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该奖学金基金会还将确保通过为其他学生广开机遇之门，将你们的梦想发扬光大。

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为进一步以实际行动缅怀你们，我们承诺将建设一个更美好的城市和一个更美好的世界，从而让我们的孩子能平安成长，探索并热爱这个广袤的世界，并完全发挥其潜能。

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{C} {C} 吴先生、殷女士——颖的父母，以及瞿先生和费女士——铭的父母，我们在此向您表示深切的同情。{C}{C} {C}{C} {C}{C} 你们的悲恸之情我们感同身受。{C}{C} {C}{C} {C}{C} 南加州大学及其遍布世界各地的成千上万名校友和支持者都深切体会到你们的丧子/女之痛。

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{C} {C} 但我们同时收获了您的孩子所赋予我们的一切精神财富，这种财富对我们的生命产生了不可估量和永不磨灭的影响。

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{C} {C} 吴颖、瞿铭，愿你们永远安息！