Lynn University President Offers Hope

Editor's Note: Below is the text of the speech by Lynn University president Kevin M. Ross to the media this evening. 4 of the 12 university students are still missing in Haiti, among them Stepahnie Crispinelli of Katonah. 

As we all know, the world suffered one of the greatest natural disasters in history last Tuesday. The 7.0 earthquake that was centered just outside Port-au-Prince imperiled the lives of all those in Haiti, including 14 members of our Lynn University family who were there on a mission trip. All 14 were on site at the Hotel Montana when the quake struck, and we have reason to believe that our four missing students and two faculty may be there still.

In the nine days since that tragedy, we have all been captivated by the stories of heroism, triumph, anguish and loss that have followed in the wake of this earthquake. And every day, we rejoice for what good news has been broadcast out of the country: the elderly woman rescued from beneath a crumbled cathedral; the child pulled alive and almost completely well from a wrecked home. As the family members of our missing students and employees have said in recent days, we have taken comfort in these reports, and celebrated them almost as if they were our own good news.

And for good reason. It is our good news. This tragedy is not a Lynn University tragedy alone. It does not affect just us, our community members, and their families. It affects us all. It affects people from around the world. It affects those that survived, and those that did not. And it impacts most severely those in Haiti itself – the people who call that country home.

Our "Journey of Hope" students went to Haiti to deliver hope. Eight have returned. And six remain missing. We still have hope– hope that a miracle is in the making. Hope that our six are found safe and sound. And hope that many others too will be freed and reunited with loved ones around the world. That remains our most ardent wish here at Lynn University.

But there is another hope we have. A different kind of hope. And it is that hope that I wish to express tonight. We have hope that whatever the days ahead may bring, that we have the United States government's assurance that every person lost in this tragedy will be returned to their loved ones.

I want this personally. I want this for the families of our missing students and faculty, and our more than three dozen employees and eight students with family missing in the country. And I want it for the campus community I serve– a community that will need to grieve as well.

This is needed for every grieving father, son, mother, daughter, friend and neighbor who is aching at this very moment for a phone call. Whenever that phone call comes, I join the families of our missing six in demanding that such a call contain news of the whereabouts of the missing. A missing family member, whether alive or dead, must be returned to his or her loved ones.

Forces are mounting in defense against such a call. From the outset of this crisis my office has been served in immeasurable ways by Senator George S. LeMieux and Congressman Ron Klein and their staffs in Florida and D.C. The two have helped however they could to aid us in our search efforts. And tonight they are standing with us to ask Secretary Clinton and others to ensure that all Americans missing and unaccounted for in Haiti be returned home.

This is the assurance our campus community – and the families of these missing loved ones – will require in the days ahead. And many other American families will appreciate the same. Tonight I have a letter already signed by Senator LeMieux urging the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and the U.S. Agency for International Development to continue "search and rescue efforts until the possibility of survival no longer exists" and to do "everything within (their) power to ensure that every American known to be missing in Haiti is located and returned home."

I am so thankful for the senator's support, and the support of Congressman Klein, who has also pledged to back us in this push. We hope all of our elected officials will join us – including those in Massachusetts, Georgia, New Jersey and New York, the home states of our four missing students. So many have already shown their support and concern. But now, we need assurances. We need a commitment to returning the missing to their families. Only this will give the families of the victims the peace they need to carry on.

We have been saying from the beginning how thankful we are for the prayers and support we have received here at Lynn University. The outpouring of support has been incredible. Please continue to offer those prayers and cross those fingers. We still believe in miracles. And we wish those same miracles upon all of you who are still uncertain at this hour.

Thank you all. And God bless.