Thousands Gather To Pay Tribute To Slain UT-Austin Student

AUSTIN, TX — Thousands of students on Wednesday evening descended to the Main Mall area of the University of Texas at Austin campus, at the base of the centerpiece Texas Tower, to pay tribute to the student killed in a stabbing attack on Monday.

Harrison Brown, 19, lived a short life before being fatally stabbed by a fellow student on Monday. But despite the brevity of his life, he made a profound impact on those he met, as speakers attested at a community gathering staged on Wednesday evening.

A memorial mass and prayer gatherings preceded the mass gathering. The event on Wednesday was the most attended, with every inch of the Main Mall portion of campus filled with people. A Facebook invitation to the event had more than 2,300 RSVPs indicating attendance.

"Our words are not potent enough to describe our grief," UT-Austin President Gregory L. Fenves told the massive crowd of students. "Harrison is gone, but has left a legacy of thoughtfulness and devotion."

Fenves told students that Brown could usually be seen on the phone, not playing video games or watching videos but speaking with his family members. "He spoke to them every single day," Fenves said.

He was especially close to his father, who suffers from amyotrophic laterals sclerosis (ALS), a rare group of neurological diseases mainly involving the nerve cells (neurons) responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement. On an ALS walk, Fenves related how Harrison and his older brother lifted their father from his wheelchair to help him cross the finish line.

"It was a gesture of love," Fenves said, "but also a gesture of defiance. This disease would not destroy the three of them."

On another occasion, Fenves told the students of a time Brown was stuck in traffic inside a car with friends. Rather than becoming frustrated, he noted to his fellow occupants the time would be well spent as they were listening to the music of Billy Joel.

"He was able to make the best of every situation," Fenves said. "There were no obstacles, just potential."

It was that attitude—always accompanied by a winsome smile—that was recalled by other speakers. His love of music also was memorable. Brown was an undeclared major but possessed a love of music, several speakers noted. The young man was constantly singing or humming, and he joined the "Ransom Notes," a campus a cappella musical group, to indulge his avocation.

"The thing I'll miss the most is his love for music," a childhood friend said. The speaker acknowledged that, at times, he grew annoyed by Brown's constant harmonizing. "But now, what I miss the most is his voice," he said. Brown was there for his friend for most every milestone of his life, the speaker said: The time he walked through the football stadium tunnel playing the trumpet as a member of the band, on his first-ever date with a girl in junior high school, on his first day as a Longhorn.

Another speaker, his voice crackling with emotion, told students he referred to Brown by his nickname, "hash brown." The young man made a deep impact on him at their first meeting, and their friendship blossomed through the years, he said.

"God, what a guy," the speaker said. "I said to myself this is a decent human being, and those are hard to find sometimes. He believed in changing the world."

The friend also recalled the time Brown helped his father across the finish line at the race to raise funds for ALS: "He was there bright and early and with a smile on his face," the friend recalled. "Whenever you saw Harrison, he had a smile on his face. You never saw Harrison without a smile on his face."

The student acknowledged the pain of having lost his friend and the confusion left in his death's wake: "These past few days have been rough on all of us," he said. "Why? What can I do about it? He is here with us forever and in our hearts."

Even strangers were touched by Brown's brief but impactful life. A student in a wheelchair spoke from the stage, saying she felt close to the Brown after watching a widely shared video of him singing the song "Ill Be," by Edwin McCain. The song was blared from speakers as students gathered at the Main Mall to pay tribute to their fellow student.

"Like many of you, I was devastated by the events on Monday," the young lady said. "I didn't know what to think. His voice was so beautiful," she said, recalling the moment she watched a video of Brown singing. "I felt the warmth of his heart," she said through tears. "I felt his spirit next to me."

She urged her fellow students to seek counselors to negotiate their grief, listing the array of resources available for students in the throes of emotions. "It's okay not be okay right now, she said. "The most important thing is to love each other."

To conclude the tribute, Brown's fellow singers in the "Ransom Notes" musical group sang "Amazing Grace" while students lit candles. As the last speaker spoke, those in the crowd spontaneously flashed the Longhorns hand signal in tribute to their fallen friend and the school of which he loved being a part.

Brown was fatally stabbed on Monday by a fellow student who injured three others in a knifing attack. Kendrex J. White, has since been charged with his murder.

>>> Photos by Tony Cantú, photo of Harrison Brown via Everipedia