A Virtual Remembrance

Wade Bruton On April 30, 2020, two wreaths were placed at the entrance to the Kennedy Building in memory of the students killed there last year. A Virtual Remembrance

BY PHILLIP BROWN

UNC Charlotte’s plans to mark the anniversary of the campus shooting of April 30, 2019, were altered drastically due to the global coronavirus.

The community concert, “United,” scheduled for the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, and the campus vigils planned by UNC Charlotte student leaders were canceled, but the University utilized technology to bring together Niner Nation to remember and honor the saddest day in the history of the institution.

“United: A Remembrance Program” was broadcast on the afternoon of April 30. The 30-minute program was streamed live, starting at 5:10 p.m., timed to conclude at 5:40 p.m., the time of last spring’s tragedy. It featured comments from Chancellor Philip L. Dubois, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Kevin Bailey and Student Government Association president and vice president, Chandler Crean and Adela Mann. UNC Charlotte alumnus and CBS correspondent Don Dahler ’91, who had planned to host the original, live concert, introduced special elements of the virtual remembrance.

“On this day, one year ago, we experienced the unimaginable when a gunman opened fire in one of our classrooms, taking the lives of two students and injuring four others,” said Dubois. “In the days and weeks that followed, we mourned the loss of Reed (Parlier) and Riley (Howell) along with their families and friends. We prayed for the full recovery of Drew (Pescaro), Emily (Houpt), Rami (Alramadhan) and Sean (DeHart). We came together as a community and united in our grief.”

The intention of the community concert was to convey the healing power of art, combining an original composition with dance, music and multimedia performances. For the virtual remembrance, organizers sought to retain that purpose, and worked with the band Water from Fire to preserve a key portion of that concert—performing favorite songs of Reed and Riley.

University alumni John Woodall ’14 and Kevin Brawley ’13, two members of the band, played Electric Light Orchestra’s “Mr. Blue Sky” in memory of Reed, and for Riley, they performed “American Dream” by Switchfoot.

Dahler, before introducing the musical interludes, spoke about Reed and Riley.

“They were extraordinary young men, stolen from the world before their time. Each had more love to give, unique dreams to pursue and talents to share. Both meant the world to their family and friends,” he said. In reflecting upon hearing of the campus shooting at his home in New Jersey, Dahler noted he was stunned and in disbelief that such a tragedy could occur “on our campus, our home.”

SGA President Crean introduced an original video featuring graphics by Jeffrey Murphy, associate professor in the College of Arts + Architecture, with an original arrangement by John Allemeier, professor of composition.

While April 30, 2019, “challenged our understanding of who we were and what we might face … what matters as ever is what’s in our hearts, how we honor the victims, survivors and all those impacted by the tragedy—and where we go from here: stronger together, as one Niner Nation,” said Crean.

Much has been written about the outpouring of support in the aftermath of the shooting. From vigils on the UNC Charlotte campus and at other institutions to acclimations of We are All Niners by businesses and organizations in the Queen City and beyond, there was—and remains—a palpable sense of unity as people dealt with their grief and came together to support not only those affected, but their families and one another.

Student Affairs Vice Chancellor Bailey spoke about the work of the chancellor-appointed Remembrance Commission, and efforts underway for a memorial on Belk Plaza.

“We will share these plans with the community as we continue to make our University a home for all of Niner Nation,

Wade Bruton Chancellor Dubois began the day’s remembrance with members of the Police and Public Safety Department and others at the Kennedy Building.

All day, visitors placed flowers, candles and notes to mark the passing of one year.

Kat Lawrence

past, present and future,” he said before reintroducing Water from Fire to perform, “Home,” an original work by band members Woodall and Brawley.

Mann, the SGA vice president, closed out the virtual remembrance by ringing the UNC Charlotte Victory Bell, which was gifted to Bonnie Cone in 1961 when Charlotte College moved from its former site at Central High School to its current location.

The bell tolled seven times, to honor Reed and Riley, the four students injured and to recognize all students present in the Kennedy Building classroom that day.

“Today’s virtual remembrance will not be the last time we talk about April 30, 2019,” said the chancellor. “It’s part of our essential history, no matter how painful. Going forward, the memorial that will be constructed in honor of the victims will be an enduring reminder to everyone who sets forth on this campus that their lives mattered—to their families, to their friends, to Charlotte and to us.”

Phillip Brown is assistant director of internal communications in University Communications and editor of this publication.

Thank you

UNC Charlotte extends heartfelt thanks to the sponsors of “United: A Remembrance Program” and others whose contributions made the program possible.

CORPORATE SPONSORS

Premier: Bank of America, Atrium Health; TIAA

CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

John Clapp

BLUMENTHAL PERFORMING ARTS

Tom Gabbard, Lauren Livesay

REMEMBRANCE CONCERT COLLEGE OF ARTS + ARCHITECTURE PLANNING GROUP

Artistic Director Lynne Conner, chair, Department of Theatre; Production Coordinator Dean Adams, Performing Arts Services; Music Coordinator Fred Spano, interim chair, Department of Music

DEPARTMENT OF DANCE

Gretchen Alterowitz, associate chair; Ann Dils, chair; Faculty: Shamou, Tamara Williams; students: Rahquelah Conyers, Mellisa Erickson, Krysta Rogden,

DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC

Faculty: John Allemeier, associate chair; Rick Dior, Michael Figgers, Shawn Smith, Ginger Wyrick; student: Peyton Wulff

DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE

Faculty: David Fillmore, Robin Witt; students: Mia Todarello, Joel Vincent

DEPARTMENT OF ART & ART HISTORY

Faculty: Jeff Murphy, Lydia Thompson, chair

STUDENT COMMITTEE

Kevin Bailey, vice chancellor for Student Affairs; Jaylaan Bennett, Micheala Brewer, Annie Burchill, Pablo Coria, Chandler Crean, Erica Kelly, Adela Mann, Yash Tadimalla, Emily Teitelbaum

STAFF AND ALUMNI

J.D. Angel, Craig Berlin, Brad Bowen, Kim Bradley, Kevin Brawley ’13, Mark Colone ’83, Don Dahler ’91, Betty Doster, Shari Dunn, Lauren Gregg, Kalin Helms, Harrison Hieb, Ryan Honeyman, Allie Kuenzi, Doug Lape, Nick Makansi, Jenny Matz, Kevin McDevitt, Andrea McDowell, Erin Millerick, Colleen Penhall, Lyndsay Richter, Niles Sorensen, Joy Springs, Whitney Wilson, John Woodall ‘14

Forever Bonded to UNC Charlotte Journalist, Author, Alumnus Don Dahler

BY JONNELLE DAVIS

Don Dahler, ’91 was barely a teenager when he began reporting the news. His inquiring mind wanted to know why his middle school in San Antonio, Texas, did not have a newspaper. So the seventhgrader and a few of his friends approached their favorite teacher, Ms. McMillan, about the issue.

“She, like all great teachers would be, was excited about our enthusiasm, and she quickly became a force of nature, commandeering a science lab for our newsroom and a tiny bit of funding for a printer and photographic equipment,” Dahler recalled recently. “From that moment, I’ve been a journalist in one way or another.”

Dahler went from covering middle school happenings to the misery of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Columbine High school shooting and the Iraq War. But before he traveled the world as a correspondent for

Don Dahler

NBC and ABC News and now, CBS News, he was a UNC Charlotte student studying history. So, like the rest of the University community, he was shocked and heartbroken to learn of the events of April 30, 2019. Upon hearing the news, Dahler wanted to be on campus with his fellow 49ers.

Dahler, who lives in New Jersey and also writes mysteries and thrillers (published titles are “A Tight Lie,” “Water Hazard,” and “Do a Little Wrong”), was to host this year’s United Remembrance Concert at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. When the event was moved online, he offered to deliver a special message of hope to the University and greater community. He was with us in spirit and continues to be a member of Niner Nation.

“To get to take part in the remembrance is incredibly important to me, as a connection to the school that has meant so much to my life and career, and the thousands of fellow alumni and students with whom I am forever bonded,” Dahler said.

As a military child, you moved frequently. How did you choose UNC Charlotte?

Being an Air Force brat cursed me with a certain wanderlust that I’ve never been able to fully exorcise. When I moved to Charlotte, I already had a degree in screenwriting and film and was working on documentaries all over the world, often living months at a time in other countries. But between projects, when I was researching, editing or fundraising, I had spare time. So I decided to work on a degree in one of my favorite subjects, history, and UNC Charlotte was convenient and highly regarded.

Although most of us at the time were commuters, I found UNC Charlotte to be every bit as vibrant and committed to education and thought and debate as any other university I’ve spent time in. It serves a terrific purpose—access to higher education for anyone willing to put in the time and effort. My time there was a blur of attending classes, studying, and then switching gears to focus on whatever film I was producing, so I didn’t get the whole university experience of social life, sports and extracurriculars. But I, to this day, have nothing but fond memories of the time spent in class with really smart people and devoted and interesting professors.

You have covered important and tragic stories. What have you learned about covering news with lasting impact?

I mean this in no way to lessen the importance of our police, firefighters, EMTs or military. But I think journalists are also first responders. We are often among those running toward something bad that’s happening. We are often among those who have to swallow our emotions to do our jobs, which is to tell the world as best we can what is happening, as confusing and scary and, at times, horrific as that is. Don’t exaggerate. Don’t guess. Report what you know to be true.

I’ve seen a lot of tragedy. Cruelty. Incomprehensible events. War and school shootings and other evils that mankind has continuously managed to inflict on itself. Often, all I can do is report the micro— what I see and hear and have learned within my limited scope—and let others ponder the macro. But being careful with the facts, even in the small scale, is enormously crucial to the formation of the larger picture.

On 9/11, I became a radio reporter when I heard the first jet pass by our New York apartment and strike the World Trade Center. I say radio, because there was no camera crew with me. Smartphones and YouTube and FaceTime didn’t yet exist. So I got on the phone to “Good Morning America,” where I worked as a national correspondent and began reporting from our fire escape what I was seeing, not unlike Edward R. Murrow in WWII from the rooftops of London. It was the one time in my life when words failed me. There was no way to adequately explain the catastrophe that was unfolding four blocks away: the still smoldering jet engine that lay on top of the bus stop it crushed; the people leaping from the burning tower; the enormous ball of dust, when the towers began collapsing, that rolled up Church Street, leaving dazed New Yorkers stumbling on sidewalks, covered in fine, white powder just trying to get home.

I spent two weeks covering that nightmare, never daring to leave the neighborhood for fear the police wouldn’t let me back in. And

when I signed off the newscast every evening, I changed clothes, put on my borrowed hard hat, and joined the thousands of others who were digging through the gigantic pile of debris, looking for, but never finding, survivors. This was, after all, not just a news story. It was my neighborhood.

What are you most proud of having covered?

I think there are probably two stories I’m most proud of for very different reasons. One was being embedded with the U.S. military on numerous occasions in Afghanistan and Iraq. I grew up among enlisted soldiers and airmen. But seeing and getting to tell about their professionalism and bravery and camaraderie in the midst of war was a true honor. I made some lifelong friends during those long, difficult, risky months. There were plenty of times we weren’t sure we’d survive one situation or another, but whenever it got that tense, those men and women rose to the moment. And more times than not, there was always one who took the time to check on me and assure me they had my back.

And the second story is more a testament to why being curious is the best attribute a journalist can have. I read a lot about a bunch of different things. Biographies, history, science fiction—name it. Not just books, but articles, too. So, in 2011, I took a career detour and was a local anchor in New York City. I happened to be sitting at our camera location in the newsroom midday to do a remote interview with an economist when my chair started shaking. Then the lights started swaying, and the producers and writers in the room began to question what was happening. But I knew. I’d experienced earthquakes before, and this felt like a substantial one.

It was confirmed within moments, and my news director ran out of his office, came up to me and declared, “Earthquake! You’re going live! Right now!” I had no information before me until the other journalists in the room could start compiling facts. No laptop with Google. No live shots yet with reporters in the field. Nothing on the TelePrompter. Just whatever was floating around in my brain. Three, two, one, you’re on. Four million viewers have just turned on their TVs around the area to find out what was happening.

Well, it just so happened I remembered reading an article about fault lines on the East Coast and how they differed from the more famous ones out west. And I’d been traveling through Costa Rica years earlier when a temblor threw me out of bed. That was something, at least.

I was off and running. Every so often a writer would drop a piece of paper with some new information on it—epicenter is in Virginia, 5.6 on the Richter scale—and I had something else to talk about. Then the field reporters began calling in and camera crews fired up their live trucks. But all in all, I ad-libbed for an hour and a half. When we finished our special report and I stepped away from the camera, the entire newsroom gave me a standing ovation. That was one of my best days.

How did you feel when you learned about the events of last April 30 at UNC Charlotte? Why was it important to you to be involved in its first anniversary remembrance?

There’s an old cliche in our business we hear a lot, especially in times of crisis: I can’t believe it happened here. Well, for me and I’m sure most everyone at the University, that was my first thought on April 30. I can’t believe it happened on our campus—such a wonderful, green, broad, energetic place bustling with students. I was in the CBS newsroom when the story broke. The bureau chief waved me over to a group of producers figuring out how to cover it—send a correspondent from Atlanta or me from New York.

“That’s my alma mater,” I blurted out. They looked at me, stunned, immediately offering condolences. We’ve all covered so many mass shootings that any hope that there were no casualties is not even entertained anymore. “You can’t go, then,” the executive producer declared. And he was right. There’s no way I could have been objective or unemotional.

Journalism and the way the public receives news have changed since the start of your career. What advice do you have for young people seeking to work in media?

Technology has always been at the center of journalism. The early typewriters were seized upon as a way to speed up the writing process. Telephones and eventually cell phones made fact-checking and communication immensely faster and easier. And now we have digital journalists who can research, produce, film, edit and then go live all from a smartphone. Pieces are cut on laptop computers. This pandemic has forced us to do our interviews over Skype and feed video material via file transfer protocols. If this had happened even five years ago we wouldn’t have been able to pull all this off. So for anyone looking to become a journalist I would say two things: get comfortable with every aspect of the new technology and stay current with it and, again, read about everything. History, science, geography—everything. You don’t have to know a lot about a lot, but know a little about a lot.

You have such a demanding job. What hobbies do you enjoy in your free time?

I still like to write books. I’m taking a break from my novels to work on the biography of a truly amazing woman who would be world-famous were it not for a cruel twist of fate. But I also have a very fun family with two young teens and a little old farm with dogs, cats, horses, chickens, a snake and a gecko. I also play a lot of tennis and golf.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected how you perform your job? Will there be permanent changes to the way journalists work?

The pandemic has changed a lot about what I do, but I’m not sure I understand yet to what extent. It’s weird working from home without the normal interaction with other journalists. We do our morning conference call on Zoom. I pitch stories to an email distribution list that goes to all the senior producers. I make calls, read articles, research, all of that from my home office. I occasionally venture out to do interviews at a safe distance—very strange—but most of the time I do Skype interviews. Like everyone else, I really look forward to life returning to what it was before, but I do think in some ways it will never be quite the same. At the very least, the executives have learned what is possible with new, less expensive technologies, and I’d be surprised if they didn’t try to capitalize on that.

Jonnelle Davis is advancement communications coordinator for University Communications.