May 12, 2008
Campus gathering supports Nick Garza’s family and friends
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — As the academic year came to a close, Nicholas Garza’s mother and grandmother joined more than 100 Middlebury College faculty, staff and students at a campus gathering on May 12 to support Nick’s family and friends. With words and music, the event offered those present an opportunity to come together to think about Nick, a Middlebury College first-year student who disappeared on Feb. 5.
Middlebury College Chaplain Laurie Jordan began the event, saying that because of Nick’s disappearance, “this semester has been an unusually difficult, frustrating, and anxious time for many of us. It has been especially hard on his family, his friends, and also those involved in the investigation and search on a daily basis.” Jordan also offered a short prayer, and read from Psalm 139. The words of the psalm, she said, suggest to us that “wherever Nick is, God is present, and whatever struggles we go through, we have a companion.”
President Ronald D. Liebowitz spoke next and told the gathering how Nick’s disappearance had affected him on many levels, including as a member of the college community, as a parent and as a human being. “In observing Nick’s absence here today,” said President Liebowitz, “we are valuing his importance as an individual in our community. And it is important for us to remember that it is the human aspect—the human dimension—that matters most at this place, and what makes this community special. This essential value—caring for one another—gives us hope and courage to move forward, even in times of uncertainty like this.”
Senior Adam Morgan, a cellist, played the Prelude from Bach's Suite No. 1 in G Major for Solo Cello. And Fulton Professor of Humanities and Atwater Commons Head Stephen Donadio read a poem by Robert Frost, “Neither Out Far Nor In Deep.”
Junior RJ Adler offered a Unitarian Universalist prayer, and ended with a benediction from minister Wayne B. Arnason: “Take courage friends. The way is often hard, the path is never clear and the stakes are very high. Take courage. For deep down, there is another truth: You are not alone.”
Nick Garza was last seen leaving a Middlebury College residence hall the evening of February 5 while the college was on break between academic terms. Despite numerous searches involving state-of-the-art equipment and dozens of local, state and federal agencies, authorities have not been able to find the cause of Nick’s disappearance. The police continue to pursue their missing person investigation.