A new exhibit that opens Oct. 6 in the William Pitt Union was the brainchild of six Pitt undergraduate students to highlight student responses to the Oct. 27, 2018 mass shooting at the Tree of Life, Dor Hadash, and New Light Congregations in Squirrel Hill that took the lives of 11 people.
The six students — Emily Dickson, Kruthika Doreswamy, Maja Lynn, Drew Medvid, Liam Sims and Claire Singer — collected physical items from the aftermath of the shooting and created an online survey that asked students six questions about their experiences in the wake of the Tree of Life tragedy. An anonymous archive of these responses is available and new submissions are encouraged.
All the items in the physical exhibit, as well as the collections that could not be displayed in the space, can be found on the website, tolsr.org
In addition, the site includes resources on combating antisemitism, an archive of Pitt student organization social media posts, the survey archive, and a list of recommended books, essays, films and more.
Working through the University’s Office of Undergraduate Research, the students have received extensive consultation from the Heinz History Center’s Rauh Jewish Archive, Pitt’s School of Social Work, and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. This initiative was funded by the Gilboa fund. They also collaborated with several faculty members.
An opening reception for the exhibit will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Oct. 6 in the Kimbo Gallery on the main floor of the William Pitt Union. The exhibit will move to the Department of History in the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences on Oct. 17.
Any upcoming events can be found here.