Ocean Isle Beach Fire Victims Tribute

'Grieving session' set for 6 p.m. Monday at Russell House

The University of South Carolina will hold a "grieving session" at 6 p.m. Monday in the ballroom of the Russell House University Union to mourn the victims of a fire Sunday in North Carolina.

"Tonight in this ballroom we will have a group gathering, a grieving session, an opportunity for students and faculty members from the university community," said Dennis Pruitt, university vice president for student affairs. "We'll share some information and have some of our campus ministers available.

"We'll have a couple of students speak and the opportunity for students to comfort each other. We'll have grief counselors and other professionals there to assist them. At the conclusion of that service, we will take the students out front to Greene Street and we will light candles to honor our fellow students."

The group will gather around a large Gamecock that is painted on the center of Greene Street. "University students have asked that we designate that as a physical location where others students might bring flowers or cards of sympathy or letters or notes both to the deceased and to the survivors and to the parents and families of those students," Pruitt said. "That's operational as we speak."

There are still no details about a memorial service. "If the students want a memorial service, if the families want a memorial service, we will have one," Pruitt said. "That will probably be the end of the week or early next week. That will be after we have confirmation of the students' identifications."

Seven students died in the fire at a house in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. Six are believed have been students at the university, and a seventh fatality was believed to be a student at Clemson University. Six other University of South Carolina students were treated for injuries at a local hospital and released.

The university is providing counseling and assistance to students who have requested it as part of a network that includes advisers in residence halls and the Counseling and Human Development Center. Anyone in the university community who needs assistance should contact the counseling center at 803-777-5223 starting at 8:30 a.m. Monday through Friday.