Santa Barbara, my University Community, and mourning the Murders

Santa Barbara, my University Community, and mourning the Murders ~ this Blog was started 4 months ago on the Banning Beaumont Patch, I summer here and I decided to start my blog here.  I have always considered myself  Switzerland before it was fashionable, I give information, and I work at remaining neutral. I work at researching to give you, the reader facts, and I will continue to research.  Friday nights terror on the streets of Isla Vista, Isla Vista the community adjacent to the campus of UC Santa Barbara my alma mater has led me to speak out, out of character, out of the norm. On behalf of my feelings for my hometown Goleta/Santa Barbara and what happened I am speaking out.

Friday night there were 6 murders in that community that I grew up in, and now it is known that they were my fellow Gauchos.  The murderer makes 7 deaths, but I will not count him because I will not validate his death, he is not a victim, so to speak, but a murderer.  The University I graduated from University California at Santa Barbara is now scarred: the victims, the students, the community, the families, the loss of such young lives. I myself cannot get pass this no matter how many prayers I have said, I am still sickened. This community has always been ridiculed as a party community and that always made me angry.  When people knew I had graduated from UCSB the comment was "oh you went to that party school" ~ that sometimes made me angry, I knew I had succeeded so it didn't stick. What did bother me was for today's students. I disliked the label for the young students, the students I had mentored, mentored at the career days for the Communication Department.  You know students work hard, graduate, and they are our future ~ I value them, respect them, and I did not appreciate them being made less than by that association.

You may wonder why should this be a post for my blog, since it is personal, and this is not my norm.  What I can say is that I visit the campus at least yearly at career day, I was on campus April 26th and they assign you a student to help you during the day. Spending the day at our campus with the students builds camaraderie, friendships.  The UC Santa Barbara campus to me is a small campus, serene, and the town of Santa Barbara it to is a beautiful town, and this is my home and it hit home ~ and Thomas Wolfe was wrong you can go home again. Chancellor Henry Yang sent an email yesterday, and it was warm and detailed. I sent a note to my communications department, prayers of course, and a note to the girl who assisted me on April 26th. As I finish up this blog my thoughts go to Storke Tower wishing I could hear the chimes chiming away as it did years ago; I loved it.  My heart is full of love and prayers, and passion to God for the vast feeling and emotions of those left to deal with the tragedy, the ~ families, students, teachers, alum, and the community.

I have a friend who has a gesture when she can no longer handle a situation and needs to give it to God ~ like a beach ball she tosses her hands in the air, high into the air, and gives it to God ~ and says here ~ I can't do it, take it. That is all I can offer to those that are remaining after this great tragedy.  Give it to God, toss it to him ~ I will keep you in my prayers, I will keep us all in our prayers ~ love, laura.