Ohio State gathering marks knife-attack anniversary

The words of Carmen Ohio, engraved in stone in the Great Hall of the Ohio Union, seemed perhaps more fitting than ever Tuesday. It was on this day a year earlier, on a quiet Monday morning after the Thanksgiving holiday, that an 18-year-old student drove his car into a crowd near Watts Hall, exited the vehicle and began stabbing people as he ran with a butcher knife.

Ohio State Police Officer Alan Horujko, directing traffic nearby because of a gas leak, shot and killed the suspect, later identified as Abdul Razak Ali Artan, a logistics

management major and Somali refugee.

Thirteen people were injured in the terrorist attack: 11 were either hit by Artan’s car or stabbed or cut by him; one female was struck in a foot by a stray bullet; and a 13th person was treated for injuries, though authorities didn’t say how he was hurt.

Members of the Ohio State University community gathered Tuesday to reflect on the events of Nov. 28, 2016.

Dr. William A. T. Clark, a professor in materials science and engineering who was injured in the attack, said Tuesday’s

commemorative event was “more affecting than anything in between.”

“To a certain extent, it brings it back,” he said. “The Ohio State community is just a little bit different from most other university communities … you realize how lucky you are to be a part of it.”

University leaders reflected on how the campus community and central Ohio came together that day and in the weeks that followed, echoing the “Buckeye strong” sentiment, the slogan and hashtag that swirled around campus after the attack.

“We have times that are wonderful, and times that are not so good and times that are tragic,” said President Michael V. Drake. “The most-important thing for all of us is that we come together to support ourselves through those times and we continue to come together to make this a better world.”

Ohio State sophomore Noel Mescher said she was always very aware of her surroundings on campus, but last year’s attack has made her even more alert.

“Now, every night when I go out, I’m always on the lookout, and even during the day, I’m always hyperaware,” she said.

The negative events of that day and how the community processed them ultimately determined Ohio State’s resiliency, said Andrew Jackson, president of Ohio State’s undergraduate student government.

“We are one university, one community and all Buckeyes,” he said. “Only by working together can we ensure that our community remains cohesive and resilient in the face of obstacles.”

Mescher agreed: “We are a really strong community and that has been even more strengthened since (the attack) did happen.”