The students at Central State University lost two fellow Marauders within one year. While the lost greatly affected the morale of most students, the campus ultimately united for a greater cause.
Jasmine Crenshaw, a twenty-two year old junior from Chicago, Illinois majoring in Criminal Justice, unexpectedly died in a lake at a resort outside of Orlando, Florida in late March of 2011. “Smart” and “very athletic”, Crenshaw excelled academically while running track for the Central State Track & Field team. She was an aspiring police officer.
“Everybody loved Jasmine.” Jackie Crenshaw, the mother of Jasmine said. “She always had a smile on her face, she made everybody happy, she loved going to school, [and] she loved sports.” Twenty-one year old Kordero Hunter, a sophomore residing in South Holland, Illinois, sadly passed away just months later in late September from a gunshot wound to the abdomen while attending a nightclub in Dayton, Ohio.
Hunter was known to have a strong desire to shine in all areas, especially on the field. Hunter played defensive back on the Central State Football team, and was considered to be an up-and-coming leader on and off the field.
Head Football Coach E.J. Junior was quoted saying, “Mr. Hunter was an energetic and hard working student.” Students’ campus wide reacted with agony for the lost of both students and remorse for their family and friends.
Dion Sampson, a graduate of Central State who now speaks at the campus’s Interfaith Ministry as a pastor, said “If this type of unity can be created due to death, I know this unity can exist any other time.”
The recent death of Kordero Hunter undeniably hit home for most students, especially the Intro to Communications course on campus in which I was his classmate. The following Tuesday in class after his passing felt empty and unreal because he was no longer with us physically, however, we sensed his presence spiritually.
“It made the campus become more aware of their surroundings,” Amanda Kilgore, a Psychology Major at Central State University said about the death of Hunter. “Although students grieved over his death, students are now more focused on what they came here for: an education.”
Today, the campus community is still coping with the lost of our fellow Marauders. These individuals were not only students at Central State University, they were our colleagues, our friends, our sister, and our brother. We will forever keep them in loving memory.
