The parents of Minghui Yu—the 24-year-old graduate student whose death shocked Columbia’s campus and garnered widespread media attention just over a week ago—arrived in New York Thursday evening and met with University President Lee Bollinger Friday.
After their visa application process was expedited by Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Yus left their home in the Shandong province of China and flew out of Beijing. It was the same flight their son took when he left home for the last time to come to Columbia, and it is their first time overseas.
Although the memorial service to honor Yu was tentatively scheduled for Thursday, April 17, the ceremony will likely be pushed back to next week, according to Columbia University Chinese Students and Scholars Association Executive Vice President Junhua Shen, GSAS ’09.
No plans for the service will be finalized until after approval by the Yus and discussion with University and CUCSSA officials, but Bollinger will be off campus for the first half of this week, “so it might be rushed” if the ceremony is Thursday, Shen said.
On Friday, Bollinger expressed his condolences to the Yu family, and this Tuesday, CUCSSA representatives and other University officials hope to meet with them about the upcoming memorial.
CUCSSA hopes to include photographs of Yu, flowers, and his favorite music in a ceremony on Low Plaza, although the nature of the service will ultimately depend on the Yus. Still, Shen said with a sadness in his voice that echoed the melancholy sentiment surrounding his friend’s sudden death, “It’s all possible.”
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