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Lafayette College Arts Society |
 It is with great sorrow that we note the passing of Dan O'Neil '06, who died in the shootings at Virginia Tech, where he was working on a graduate degree in environmental engineering, on April 16, 2007. Dan was Vice-President of the Arts Society in 2005–2006 and a two-year Arts House resident. He organized Café Nights and Guitar Jams, and performed at four Block pARTies. He was a popular member of the Parson(s) Street and Williams Center communities, and we miss him. |
This is the text of a letter sent to Dan's classmates in mid-June 2007. Dear Classmates: As you all know, we were devastated to hear the news that our classmate Dan O’Neil was among those killed at Virginia Tech on April 16th, 2007. Dan was in graduate school there, studying environmental engineering. At Lafayette, Dan excelled in the classroom as a civil engineering major. He was vice president of the Arts Society, a member of the Marquis Players acting group, lived for two years in the Arts Houses, and was always playing the guitar. As many of his friends remember, he was famous for loving Dunkin’ Donuts and always appreciated those who would take the drive with him. Dan was a truly special member of our class – and he will continue to be missed. In the days following his death, Dan’s family and friends established the Dan O’Neil Music Scholarship fund in Rhode Island. Here at Lafayette, many people called wanting to start a memorial effort as well. Dan’s life and loss touched not only his classmates, but many other students, alumni, friends, and community members. It is in that spirit that an idea to create a memorial fund at Lafayette began. In the beginning stages of planning, Lafayette heard from many of Dan’s friends and was in close communication with us as class officers, as well as Allison Quensen Blatt of the Williams Center and Professor David Brandes in Civil Engineering. Several gifts have already been received and a temporary fund was established in Dan’s memory. Now, after consultation with Dan’s parents and family, the Daniel P. O’Neil Memorial Fund will be created as a part of Lafayette’s permanent endowment. His family decided that they would like the fund to be designated to support projects of senior engineering students – such as individual research, honors work, or design projects. We wanted to let you know about these developments, and to invite you to support the fund in honor of Dan. This will be a permanent tribute to his memory and will truly help Lafayette students who share his passions. This is an opportunity for our class to be a part of the initial gift that creates the endowment. You can make your gift to Dan’s fund by returning the enclosed card and envelope, or by going online to www.lafayette.edu and using the Giving to Lafayette link. Please be sure to enter Dan O’Neil Memorial Fund in the ‘other’ designation area. This has been a very sad time for us as a class and as a College. We hope that this memorial to Dan will make a strong statement about his impact on all of us. If you have any questions about the fund or anything else please feel free to call or email either of us at any time, or to get in touch with Debbie Rhebergen `03, Assistant Director of the Annual Fund at rhebergd@lafayette.edu or (610) 330-5013. Thank you and all the best, |
After he’d worked for me for a year as an usher at the Williams Center, Dan announced, “You should hire me to work in the box office next year.” (He was not a subtle fellow.) That’s how we came to spend four hours a week together during his senior year. Allison Quensen Blatt |
