The Community Honors Lane Burrows with Two Events
Students gather at the candlelight vigil and listen to memories and sentiments from Lane Burrow’s life.
Last Friday marked a particularly sad day in Titan territory, as it marked three years since Lane Burrows, a student of the class of 2023, tragically passed away. The newly formed Live4Lane club as well as Memory Lane foundation put on two events for the community: a 63 second moment of silence between first and second block and a candlelight vigil that night in which was open to the public.
The Live4Lane club had their first official meeting on Tuesday, November 15th. At the meeting, they quickly put together plans for the events.” [We] planned the event partly because it was his senior year, and we don’t want his legacy to graduate along with the senior class. With the club, we hope we can help people just to be kind to others and help people make friends and create a community that people will feel less alone, which would end the stigma of mental health,” club organizer Lindsie Smith said.
Maranda Heil, Lane’s mom, said, “We believe that the message of hope and healing needs to be shared to make sure that people remember his spirit, and his love and kindness that he gave others. Also, to really just make sure that people remember to take care of themselves and that there’s hope.”
Between first and second block, students were invited to meet out at the rock for a 63 second moment of silence in honor of Lane, as his football number was 63. “Today, we really just wanted to honor Lane for the last year before [the class of 2023] graduates. This was the last chance all of our seniors are going to be home at this time. 63 was his football number. So we thought what better time tribute to do than 63 seconds,” Gabby Guambo, one of the club organizers, said.
Students from all grades came out in the cold, windy weather in support of the cause. “I grew up with Lane and although he wasn’t my closest friend, he was always part of my life. I think it’s important that we honor and spread awareness about mental health,” Owen Leinbach said.
Jackson Schuler said, “I think it’s really important that we take the time to address mental health stigma, especially at school since it’s always such a big part of it. I’m here to support my friends and make sure that we honor [Lane’s] legacy.”
At the vigil that night, students and members of the community stood side by side holding candles, while sharing memories of Lane’s life, and including the sentiment that “it is okay to not be okay.”
Heil said, “The club was really inspired by making sure that Lane was honored on his senior year, especially today on the anniversary of his death. Tonight, we wanted to bring people together to share memories, and just share hope, so that the people that didn’t meet Lane had a chance to really get to know his spirit.”
“[Students should know] that they always have a place to go. They are never alone. And, specifically, men’s mental health is so so important, and it’s not spoken about enough. Everybody is welcome and everybody here is loved. We love Lane so much, and we just want him to know that even though he’s so far away, we will continue to live for him,” Guambo said.
Caelan Jones is Editor-in-Chief for DHS Press, where she has served for 3 years as a part of the program. As a Senior at Dominion, Caelan has been a part...
