SU students react to Aaliyah tragedy

“You know this girl is dead, right?” asked freshman C. J. Nicholls while holding up the CD cover displaying the photo of the radiant songstress.
Dead? Aaliyah? Immediately defensive walls within the minds of Southern students went up to shield their thoughts from the horrid news.
“Just the other day she was on BET talking about her goals left to accomplish,” said Allen Ventress, a freshman chemical engineering major from Port Barre.
At approximately 5:50 p.m. (6:50 p.m. EST) on Saturday, August 25, R&B superstar Aaliyah and eight members of her creative team were killed in a plane crash . The twin-engine Cessna 402 charter plane was headed to Florida when it fell to the earth 200 feet from the end of the runway of the Marsh Harbor Airport on Abaco Island in the Bahamas.
Fans grimaced as they viewed investigators searching through the wreckage.
“Her death was untimely and the news shocked every person,” said Cal Bacchus, a senior marketing major from Harvey.
“While everyone is trying to come up with an explanation and reason for the crash they need to let it go because it was just her time to go,” stated Shavon Taylor, a senior nursing student also from Harvey.
While the music of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. contained harsh, death-drenched themes that cushioned the minds of fans before their demise, Aaliyah’s sultry vocals celebrated passion and sensuality.
At Southern’s 1995 Homecoming concert, the angelic diva performed her then-hit singles “Back and Forth” and “At Your Best”, sharing the stage with Outkast and UGK.
“It hit home because I’m also 22. It was a wake-up call to let me know that you never know when your time will come,” replied Vernice Brown, a senior family and consumer sciences major from New Orleans.
“She was a very talented young lady who worked real hard to get where she was at,” Omari Andrews, a sophomore Business student from Baton Rouge replied.
Her latest, self-titled album, “Aaliyah,” hit record store shelves only six weeks before her death and has already reached gold status.
“I was just watching her diary on MTV and she was saying how she was so happy and how she was blessed because the Lord was making so much happen for her,” said Melissa Righteous, a senior elementary education student from Baton Rouge.
Aaliyah was in the Bahamas shooting scenes for the video “Rock the Boat” prior to the fatal crash. The singer/actress was 22 years old.