J
amie Weiss’ mother, Tara, was not a close friend of Alexander Lowenstein’s when they both attended Syracuse University in the late 1980s.
The two usually just said hello to each other on campus in passing.
But that was enough for Jamie Weiss to feel connected to Alex, who was one of the 35 SU students, along with 235 others, who died in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland on Dec. 21, 1988.
In honor of preserving the memories of the students who died in the bombing, such as Alex, SU established the Remembrance Scholars program, which picks 35 current students each year to individually represent the victims. Now, Weiss, a senior broadcast journalism major, continues to build her connection with Alex by representing him as a Remembrance Scholar.
“These victims were people,” Weiss said. “They weren’t just names in a textbook.”
When Tara found out her daughter would represent Alex as a Remembrance Scholar, she said in an email that it felt “bittersweet.”
“I thought of Alex’s family and how their lives were forever altered. … 28 years later and the hurt is still there,” Tara said. “Jamie representing Alex is a very meaningful honor, and not just because I went to Syracuse with Alex, but because Jamie really is the perfect match to represent him.”
On the Friday afternoon before Remembrance Week started, Weiss looked through some of Alex’s personal belongings donated by his parents that are now kept in the SU Archives dedicated to those lost in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing.
These victims were people. They weren’t just names in a textbook.Jamie Weiss, a 2016-2017 Remembrance Scholar
As she saw his Zeta Psi fraternity beer stein, she quickly noticed the mug’s imprint of Alex’s expected graduation year: 1989. The same year her mother graduated SU. Weiss’ mother was also in Greek life at SU as a sister of Sigma Delta Tau.
“These students are our parents’ age,” Weiss said. “These could have been our parents, which is so weird to think about.”
As Weiss flipped through other photos of Alex from the archives, she couldn’t help but think of her own trip abroad to London this past spring. She stumbled upon one photo of Alex posing in front of the prehistoric Stonehenge monument in England, as he stoically stood wearing sunglasses with his hands in his pockets and the monument to his right.
“Makes me feel nostalgic about my semester abroad,” she said as she continued to browse through his photos.
Ally Moreo | Asst. Photo Editor
Soon enough, Weiss pulled out her iPhone to compare a photo of herself standing in a similar fashion with the Stonehenge monument to her right, as well. The only main difference was Weiss stood a bit farther away than Alex from the infamous rocks.
Other photos from the archives showed Alex on the beach. Weiss said she learned from speaking with his family and friends that he was a big surfer. As she looked through more photos of Alex, she laughed and added now, “I can tell.”
Alex’s family also donated his belongings that were discovered at the site of the Pan Am Flight 103 crash to the SU Archives. One of the items discovered in the crash was a bright orange waterproof Hanimex Amphibian camera.
Some of Joe Reichling’s fondest memories of Alex were on the beaches of Montauk, where both of their families often stayed. Reichling met Alex his freshman year at SU through a mutual friend and was roommates with Alex their sophomore year.
The first time Reichling ever successfully caught a wave on a surfboard was when he was with Alex, which was an “immensely powerful” moment the two shared, he said.
“Alex was so happy I got to have that experience,” Reichling said.
He also remembered sharing laughs with Alex, adding that he was a very deep and creative person, too. And when it came to the water, Alex was always in his element.
Even when a storm approached Montauk, Reichling said he remembered Alex would be the only one still surfing, despite the “super rough” weather.
“I remember thinking, how courageous,” he added.
Weiss continued to flip through photos of Alex. Some were headshots of him for his fraternity, others were photos of him and his friends posing at various landmarks during his semester abroad in London just before his passing.
Ally Moreo | Asst. Photo Editor
And then, Weiss noted and pointed, there is the popular photo of Alex shouting on top of a small cliff facing a beach. In it, he is flinging his arms wide, straight into the sky as his pink jacket flies back, revealing his bare chest. The sky is gray in the photo, making his colorful jacket, bright blue swim trunks and personality jump out even more.
Alex stood out to Weiss, she said, not only for the mutual friends and experiences he shared with her mother, but also because of the warm, happy persona he exuded.
In an act of moving forward in Alex’s memory, Weiss was told by Alex’s fraternity brothers to travel and seize adventures when possible, which she said she took to heart during her semester in London.
“He was just such a happy guy. He loved life, and I at least like to think I exude that. I like to think I’m a bubbly person,” Weiss said. “I like to think I have a positive outlook on life, so I try to channel that.”
Banner photo by Ally Moreo | Asst. Photo Editor
Published on October 25, 2016 at 10:52 pm
Contact Anna: almerod@syr.edu
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Absolutely love this article. Well written, and very powerful.