Two students remembered at service

Friday, 5/30/97 Two students remembered at service MEMORIAL:
UCLA wake mourns death of Pearce, Sanders

By Jennifer Mukai Daily Bruin Contributor A memorial service
honoring UCLA students Brian Pearce and Brian Toshio Sanders was
held Wednesday night in Kerckhoff Hall’s newly christened Charles
E. Young Grand Salon. About 135 people attended, many of whom could
be seen discreetly wiping away tears during the service. Pearce and
Sanders drowned May 17 at Lake Mead, Nev., while on a weekend trip
with the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. Pearce, a fourth-year
business economics student, attempted a backflip into the water but
did not resurface, according to witnesses. Sanders, a second-year
computer science engineering student, dived after him to rescue him
and disappeared as well. Sanders’ sister, Christine Sanders, and
girlfriend, Christine Whittaker, both attended Wednesday night’s
memorial service. Both declined to comment. Pearce’s girlfriend,
fourth-year communications studies student Lia Ramsey, was unable
to attend the memorial but did leave a brief speech to be read by
one of Pearce’s fraternity brothers. "Brian will be remembered by
his happy smile and his enthusiasm for life," she said. "His strong
spirit, however, will not need to be merely remembered, because I
truly believe that it will live on." Ramsey’s message went on to
explain her absence from the memorial service. The Kappa Kappa
Gamma sorority’s senior celebration had been rescheduled from last
week just for her, she said, and happened to be on the same night
as the memorial. After much thought, she had concluded that Pearce
would have encouraged her to celebrate her upcoming graduation with
her friends. While it would be a struggle to overcome the loss of
both Pearce and Sanders, Ramsey continued, "We can learn from these
tragedies and grow from the impact Brian and Brian had on our life.
We can learn to enjoy today and not obsess over tomorrow. We can
learn to cherish our relationships with our loved ones, and we can
learn greater strength to endure whatever life may have in store
for us." Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity president Steve Lacrosse
recalled Pearce as "always smiling." "He could always find
something funny in every situation." Second-year political science
and psychology student Jared Freilich, who had been Sanders’s
roommate for the past two years, also said a few words at the
memorial. "This is the first loss – big loss – in my life," he
said, addressing the crowd. Memories of Sanders sometimes bring
smiles to his face, he continued, but others sadden him. "We had
big plans, and now they seem stolen from me," Freilich said. Those
plans included sharing an apartment next year with friends Tyler
Young, a second-year economics student, and Zack Prager, a
second-year cognitive science student. Young, a friend of Sanders
since middle school, commented that he almost doesn’t want to
return to classes and "normal" life yet, for fear of really missing
his friend. Last week, he explained, he was too busy helping with
funeral arrangements to worry about himself. "Now," cut in Dykstra
neighbor Sara Burt, "it’s just lonely." Like Young, the second-year
European studies student said she didn’t want to return to any
routine yet. "I almost feel like I’m forgetting about him (if I
do)," Burt said. "I feel selfish, like I’m doing my own life, while
Brian is not." Ironically, commented Freilich and Young, the
weekend Sanders had gone to Lake Mead was the first in years that
they had all been apart. First-year biology student Sandra Ar-bab
said she found it difficult to see the four friends separated. "All
four – that’s how I met them, and that’s how I always see them,"
she said. She went on to say that when she arrived at UCLA last
fall from New York, she hadn’t known anyone here. She looked to
Sanders and his friends for friendship and advice. "In a way,
they’re like my family here," Ar-bab said. "Being on the floor,
seeing them everyday, they’ve become integral to my life here."
JUSTIN WARREN/Daily Bruin Christine Whittaker (right) mourns the
deaths of Brian Sanders and Brian Pearce at a memorial service held
Wednesday night at Kerckhoff Hall. Whittaker was Sanders’
girlfriend. In the foreground (left), Brian Sanders’ sister
Christine Sanders grieves. Previous Daily Bruin Story: Two Lambda
Chi Members DrownMay 20, 1997