Andrea Dean was driving from Syracuse University to her home in Leesport, Pa., with her dad, thinking of how she wanted to spend her Christmas break. Radio turned off, tape in the cassette player, she felt relief that finals were over.

It was December 21, 1988. The drive home took four hours, and she had no idea then that it was a day she would never forget. When she arrived home, she opened the door to her house, and her mother walked out.

‘Did you know anyone?’ her mother asked.

‘What are you talking about?’ Dean responded, confused.

During those four hours on the road, Libyan terrorists blew up Pan Am Flight 103 killing 270 people; 35 were SU students. Three of her friends she had lived with on South Campus were on the flight when it exploded in the sky over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Frederick ‘Sandy’ Phillips constantly made Dean laugh, especially when the two sled down the hill behind the townhouses on Skytop Road. Timothy Cardwell was in the ROTC program. He was strong, brave and always supportive. Kesha Weedon always greeted Dean with a warm smile and a hello. She was pretty and a little shy.

Now with the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi – the only person convicted in the terrorist act – Dean is outraged and reminded of her friends’ deaths all over again.

Al-Megrahi was released from jail Aug. 20, after serving eight years of his life sentence, because Scottish authorities said his terminal prostate cancer gave compassionate grounds for him to return home to die. But the decision received intense backlash from America and the families of Pan Am victims.

‘I think al-Megrahi’s release is despicable but typical,’ Dean said. ‘It isn’t fair that these families have to relive this tragedy. I can’t imagine the pain the families are going through again.’

Dean relived it. On that December day, the university went into a surreal mode after the news hit Syracuse. Counselors were made available. Exams were postponed for anyone who still had finals. Now, she visits the memorial wall in front of Hall of Languages often to touch her friends’ names.

‘As a student attending SU during that disaster, I can tell you it changed me. It let me know how extremely vicious people do exist in this world. It let me know that life can be snatched away from you in an instant. And it let me know how much I terribly miss my fellow students,’ she said.

Kara Weipz, former president of the families’ support group, Victims of Pan Am 103, felt déj vu from 1988 when she heard of al-Megrahi’s release. Her brother, Richard Monetti, was one of the SU students that died in the bombing.

‘I was in a lot of shock. There were rumors it was going to happen, but when it actually happened I was stunned,’ she said.

Raised a Catholic, Weipz was taught forgiveness. She could understand if he was released and placed in hospice to die. That would have been easier for her to grasp.

‘I find it very difficult to have any compassion for a person who has shown no remorse. To release him is an utter disgrace. What happened last week is just an outrage.’

When Libya welcomed al-Megrahi home with open arms, Weipz refused to watch the news on TV.

‘It’s an absolute insult to anyone who has lost a loved one in an act of terrorism – especially for the Pan Am 103 families. It is completely despicable.

‘I think that it is so important – especially since those on campus now weren’t even alive when this happened – to keep remembering it and to keep it in focus and have the kind of outrage that they do. I know it means a lot to the families whose relatives were on the flight,’ Weipz said.

Americans still angry over the bomber’s release have made calls to boycott Scottish products, particularly whiskey, according to a BBC report. Al-Megrahi’s release has also sparked questions in Britain, where it is rumored the British government did not intervene because of commercial interests in Libya, the BBC is also reporting.

The Victims of Pan Am 103 will hold a demonstration at the United Nations Sept. 23, when Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi is scheduled to speak in New York City, said Frank Duggan, the group’s president, in an e-mail.

Christopher Dambroso graduated from SU in 2004. He didn’t know anyone in the bombing, but growing up in Syracuse and graduating from SU gave him a feeling of connection.

‘You can’t help but think of the tragedy by walking past the memorial multiple times per week during your college career, as was my case.’

He was initially outraged by the news of al-Megrahi’s release like most Americans. The more he thought about it, though, he could see both sides of the issue.

‘On one side you have a group of people that are outraged and rightfully so…On the other side I can see (Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny) MacAskill’s point in that he’s trying to take the high road and show some compassion.’

Dambroso said he hopes the protest at the UN and possibly on campus will generate news and inform those who don’t already know the history of Pan Am.

‘In my opinion, the focus of everything surrounding the bombings and release of al-Megrahi should still be centered on preserving the memory and love of the lives lost in Flight Pan Am 103,’ Dambroso said.

There have been a number of people who have expressed interest in protesting al-Megrahi’s release on campus, said Judy O’Rourke, who has been involved in Pan Am 103 Remembrance at SU since its inception. Currently, there are no confirmed details on the place or time though, she said.

O’Rourke was disgusted when she saw the way al-Megrahi was greeted back home. As the convicted terrorist stepped off the jet that took him home to Libya, hordes of Libyans cheered and celebrated his release. It was the kind of hero’s welcome that President Obama urged Libya not to give him and the kind of greeting that repulsed many Americans.

‘The whole 20 years since this happened, I personally have wanted to see some sort of justice served for the person or persons who committed this horrible crime,’ O’Rourke said. ‘It’s just a very sad, sad thing that the one person who was tried and found guilty of killing 270 people was let go.’

Published on August 30, 2009 at 12:00 pm