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URBANA — Four years after the death of three Chinese students killed in a car accident, staff and students at Urbana University still gather each year to make sure their memory continues.
About 50 people gathered Tuesday at the memorial to honor Jin “Jack” Bian, Bing “Jo” Xue and Yan “Zoe” Sun. The three students, who attended Urbana University, were killed in a nine-car crash in 2007 at the intersection of Urbana and Moorefield Roads in Springfield.
Those who spoke of the students said they took a risk by traveling across the world to study in Urbana.
“It’s clear that life is a journey,” said Stephen Jones, president of Urbana University. “It’s not a destination. Their journey was bold and memorable.”
Xue “Paulette” Zhang, a friend and classmate of the three students, said the deaths have been extremely hard on their parents, who still live in China.
Despite the distance, she said the students were buried in the United States.
Zhang, who graduated from Urbana University in 2008, said she talked to the families of the three students Tuesday morning. Last year was the three-year anniversary, which is particularly important in China, she said.
Zhang also noted that many of the students who now attend Urbana University were not around when the car crash occurred. She said the memorial is an important way to keep their memory alive in the future.
“That’s our purpose, to carry on their memories,” Zhang said.
Jones said the university has increased the number of foreign students on its campus in recent years. There are about 50 students from China who attend classes in Urbana. About half are undergraduate students and half are graduate students.
It’s a commitment that is important to staff and faculty members, Jones said, because those students bring a new perspective to the community. At the same time, he said there is an obligation for the university to take care of all its students because their families trust that their children will be looked after.
“We didn’t lose three students,” said Kirk Peterson, senior vice president for academic affairs. “We lost a brother and sisters at Urbana University.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0355.
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