If gunshots are heard outside, New Orleanians may have several reactions. They may look at one another, safe in their homes, and sigh or roll their eyes at how short a time has passed since the last time they heard shots. A few might call the police, or peek out from behind blinds to survey the damage.

Very few, however, run outside to see how they can help, and yet in the moments immediately after last Monday’s shooting in front of Friar Tuck’s Bar and Grill, two Loyola students and a Tuck’s bartender and patron did just that.

While their actions inevitably were unable to change the man’s fate outside of Tuck’s, Nolan Storey and Jack Friese, as well as the bartender and patron, illustrated the core values of a Jesuit institution: being men for others. By risking their own safety in the interest of helping others, they not only proved to be good citizens, but good examples of a Jesuit education.

It is an interesting question to ask oneself: What would I do? Out of context, it’s easy to pretend that we would all have done the same thing. When the adrenaline surges for real, though, and the fight-or-flight instinct kicks in, very few would have done what Nolan and Jack did.

It is an honor to call these people friends and peers, as we all do. When most of us would have made sure our windows and doors were locked, they risked their lives to help someone they didn’t even know. In the face of uncertainty and fear they performed and action that was small in effect, but huge in compassion. This action should not be dismissed as trivial, but celebrated because it meant that the last experience of a dying man was not one of violence, but one of love and compassion.

We are proud to stand with you as members of the Loyola community.