When Moammar al Gadhafi died at the hands of rebel forces in Libya on Thursday, Susan Cohen was delighted.

‘I’m glad he suffered,’ she said. ‘You can call it vengeance.’

Cohen’s daughter, Theodora Cohen, was one of 35 Syracuse University students who died after Pan Am Flight 103 disintegrated in the skies over Lockerbie, Scotland, on Dec. 21, 1988. The students were returning home from study abroad programs in London and Florence, Italy, when a bomb exploded, killing all 259 on board and 11 on the ground.

Gadhafi, who ruled Libya as a dictator for more than 40 years until rebel forces ousted him from office in February, is thought to have ordered the bombing.

Instead of seeking exile like Tunisian and Egyptian counterparts who were also removed from office as part of the larger Arab Spring, Gadhafi charged back with a militant effort.

Following months of civil war, including NATO-led airstrikes against Gadhafi loyalists, rebels appeared to have gained an upper hand in August when Gadhafi’s compound was overrun.

Viral cellphone video footage depicting Gadhafi’s bloody end accompanied news of Gadhafi’s death Thursday. Blood poured from his head, his pants were saturated with blood and it seemed as though he was pleading for mercy from the crowd.

For Cohen, who co-authored a book with her husband on the bombing and search for those responsible, the death was ‘marvelous.’

‘It was the Libyan people that gave us our justice,’ she said.

Kevin Quinn, vice president of public affairs at SU, issued a statement Friday, sympathizing with the victims’ families.

‘Today, we once again remember our students and all who were lost in the Pan Am 103 tragedy, and the grief and sense of loss their families still bear,’ he said. ‘We stand in support of our families today, as we do every day, and continue to honor the memory of those lost.’

On the day of the bombing, local media outlets began reporting on the disaster with initial reports that 38 students — the total number of students who traveled abroad — were lost. It was later learned three of the 38 were not passengers on the flight, said Joan Deppa, associate professor in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications who was in her fourth year as a professor at the time of the bombing. Students on campus were visibly distraught as names of classmates, friends or significant others scrolled on television screens.

‘Students who were watching this were just shaken to the core,’ Deppa said. ‘Some of them were hysterical, some of them were just numb.’

The day was further complicated because a basketball game was scheduled at the Carrier Dome that night, she said. Officials proceeded with the game, as it was too late to inform those who were traveling otherwise. A moment of silence was held that night, though Deppa wondered how a grieving campus could proceed.

It wasn’t until later, when Deppa went on one of her four trips to Lockerbie and spoke with the townspeople, that she realized continuing with the SU basketball game was a natural, human response. Residents in Lockerbie told Deppa bingo night was still held on the night of the bombing. Many in Lockerbie returned home to check in on the well-being of family members and returned for bingo night, Deppa said.

As the SU community coped with basketball, those in Lockerbie coped with bingo.

‘That’s quite a natural thing to do. To keep on doing what you were going to do because you can’t quite figure it out. It helped me to understand why we kept on playing basketball that night,’ Deppa said. ‘Death is one of those things that will do this to you. If you suddenly lose a friend or relative, it may take you a while to just process it.’

Deppa said though seeking and trying those responsible for the bombing may be plausible in the future, other needs are currently more pressing in Libya.

‘That would be nice, but I’m sorry, they’ve got a country they’ve got to form,’ she said.

Andrew Gross, a senior newspaper major and managing editor of The Daily Orange at the time of the bombing, described the period of time in 1988 into 1989 before returning to campus as ‘a month of sitting on pins and needles’ because many students were home for Winter Break when news of the bombing broke. The students’ return to campus was ‘solemn,’ Gross said.

Gross said every time Pan Am-related coverage has emerged in the years since then, he has been transported back to 1988. He said he hopes Gadhafi’s death will offer those directly affected by the bombing even the slightest sense of closure.

‘Nothing’s ever going to bring those people back,’ he said.

Judy O’Rourke, member of the Remembrance Scholarship selection committee and director of undergraduate studies at SU, worked at the university at the time of the bombing. She said she heard of Gadhafi’s death on the radio as she was driving into work.

Initially, she consumed the news with caution, but eased into the thought throughout the day as more reports surfaced.

‘I believe the world is a better place without him,’ she said. ‘He was an evil man who inflicted terrible destruction on his own people and people anywhere in the world that he could possibly get to.’

dbtruong@syr.edu

Published on October 23, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Debbie: dbtruong@syr.edu | @debbietruong