Commemoration ceremony for our 17 students lost in the earthquake

A commemoration ceremony was held at Beytepe Campus for 17 students who lost their lives in the earthquake disaster that caused deep pain to our university as well as our country.

The ceremony started with a music concert in which 2 pieces composed for the memory of all the people who lost their lives in the earthquake and the students from Hacettepe we lost were performed for the first time by the academics and students of the Ankara State Conservatory. After the concert, 17 students who lost their lives were expressed in their memories.

At the commemoration ceremony where emotional moments were experienced, our university Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Cahit Güran made a speech. Rector Güran, who could not hold back his tears while giving his speech, said, “There are moments when people feel helpless, words get stuck in their throats, they cannot find words to say. Today, we can't find the words to say while we are living the pain of our students, citizens, mothers, fathers, children, brothers, relatives, friends, people we know and do not know, who we lost in the earthquake. In fact, the event we are experiencing is a slap in the face by the bare facts of life and the laws of nature. It is necessary to understand the message of this slap correctly and to learn from what happened. In order not to cause such an end, for ourselves and future generations; We must work with all our might to build a world where the truths and rules, which are the requirements of science, reason and rationality, dominate. However, if we act in this direction, we can prevent such a destruction in the coming years. For the future, we have to train better engineers, better architects, better geologists, better lawyers, better politicians and better people.”

In the ceremony, after the carnations were left at the Vefa Monument, where the names of 17 students were written, the saplings were brought together with the soil in order to keep the memory of 17 students alive.