[PHOTOS] Mort de l’etudiant Amadou Cisse : Ses amis se souviennent

Friends of doctoral candidate gather in university’s Bond Chapel to mourn the Senegal native and murder victim

One week before Amadou Cisse was to accept his doctoral diploma, more than 200 people gathered at the Bond Chapel on the University of Chicago campus Friday to remember the graduate student slain last week.

Students, faculty and staff listened to eulogies from friends and colleagues of Cisse, the Senegal native who was fatally shot near the U. of C. campus the morning of Nov. 19.

"I mourn him as a valued member of our community whose death has left a palpable absence for us all," U. of C. President Robert Zimmer said.

Cisse, who had completed the work for a doctoral degree in chemistry shortly before his death, was remembered as a student with an appetite for science and religion.

Mohsin Ali of the Muslim Student Association recalled Cisse’s commitment to fasting and evening prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Cisse also learned how to recite the Quran in its original Arabic even though he didn’t speak the language, Ali said.

Co-workers in Cisse’s laboratory portrayed him as shy and gentle on first impression but given to passionately debating current events, religious issues and soccer rivalries when prompted.

The memorial service came at the end of a week that saw Eric Walker, 16, charged with first-degree murder in Cisse’s death.

Czerny Brasuell, director of multicultural affairs at Bates College in Maine, where Cisse earned an undergraduate degree, said Cisse would have been saddened by the suspect’s young age.

"Amadou would be grieving for that child who has been charged with his death," Brasuell said. "Amadou would ask, ’How does it come to pass that no one taught this young man another path ?’ He would ask of us, ’How can we save this child ?’"

Symon Ogeto, an employee at the U. of C. International House, where Cisse lived for nearly six years, said students residing there remained shocked by the slaying.

"It has given most international students a different perspective on the United States," Ogeto said. "When something like this happens, it devastates innocent voices." ...