The editorial “Loyola students embrace Jesuit spirit by rushing to victim’s aid” in the last edition of the Maroon was flattering, but we feel that at least our actions were in no way, for lack of a better word, as heroic as they were made out to be.
The real heroes of the night, the true embracers of the Jesuit spirit, were Nathan Degerstedt and Kaitlin, a former bartender of Friar Tuck’s.
Nate was the man continually checking Errol Meeks’ pulse, and Kaitlin was the truly heroic bartender who caressed Meeks’ head as he passed away that night. Before we even poked our heads out of our door, they were there with the victim. As we arrived on the scene, Nate was kneeling next to the victim, telling him to “stay with us,” that help was on its way. Kaitlin was on the ground, holding the victim’s head, trying to stop the bleeding with a bar towel.
Nate and Kaitlin are the individuals who should be praised. They acted in the best possible way. Instead of staying inside, instead of hiding from the possibility of more gunshots, they were the first outside. They were the ones who showed true compassion and love for a complete stranger in the darkest of times. They did the most and the best they could do, and that’s all anyone could ever ask. They acted heroically, without hesitation.
In such a hectic moment, Kaitlin knew exactly what to do. She had the bar towel pressed against Errol’s head to stop the bleeding and the phone against her ear telling the police exactly where they were and what had happened.
Kaitlin and Nate’s actions were of bravery, compassion, love and caring. These two individuals are the true embodiment of the Jesuit spirit, and they are individuals that everyone should be honored to call their friends and peers. Meeks’ last moments were not of violence, but of the truest love one being can have for another, specifically from Nate and Kaitlin.
We will always remember that night. But it is not just a memory of an act of violence that cost a man his life; it is a memory of the heroic actions these two individuals took, and how we will spend the rest of our lives aspiring to have the kindness, compassion, care and love that they had that night for a man they did not know.
Jack Friese
Music industry studies senior
Nolan Storey
English writing junior
