Delta Phi Epsilon plans to honor Pan Am Flight 103 victim with scholarship
Cynthia J. Smith was described by her father as “generous” before she died in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. The Gamma chapter of Delta Phi Epsilon will work to endow a scholarship in her name to solidify her memory at Syracuse University. Nathaniel Harnedy | Staff Photographer
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Celebrating her 21st birthday abroad, Cynthia “Cindy” Smith had “everything going for her,” her father Edward Smith said in a book remembering her.
Smith was a fashion design and marketing major at Syracuse University and studied abroad in London. She was killed on a flight back to New York City in the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 bombing.
Smith, who was a member of SU’s Delta Phi Epsilon sorority, is remembered as a “kind” person with an “incredible heart,” the current sorority president Grace Lebersfeld said. Now, SU’s Gamma chapter is working to endow a scholarship in her name, solidifying her memory at the university.
From Milton, Massachusetts, Smith was involved in youth programs and the peer leadership counseling program, helping students struggling with addiction issues, according to SU archives. She used her “outgoing” personality as a way to befriend new people and was dedicated to helping those around her.
Smith was a very active member of the Gamma chapter, current chapter Vice President of Programming Lucy Rosenblut said. Rosenblut said Smith worked hard to honor the three pillars of DPhiE: justice, sisterhood and love.
“She tried to bridge the gap between the community of Syracuse and the sorority,” Lebersfeld said. “She was very devoted to giving back to the community, helping those in need. She was a constant volunteer at a lot of different local organizations.”
The chapter has been working toward its goal of $25,000 for the scholarship’s endowment over the past five years and is now over halfway to achieving it. With a year left to finish funding the scholarship, the sorority has been holding events every semester to raise money, Lebersfeld said.
Each year’s vice president of programming creates different events, rather than repeating past ones, to help fundraise for the scholarship. Lebersfeld said this allows the chapter to keep it “unique,” and all the proceeds go directly into the DPhiE foundation, funding its scholarship opportunities.
While the national DPhiE foundation offers scholarships for members at chapters around the United States, the scholarship in Smith’s name will only be for members of SU’s Gamma chapter.
Rosenblut said the scholarship, only being offered to sisters at SU, allows everyone in the chapter to have the same experience, no matter their financial or social status.
“Unfortunately, we were never able to meet Cynthia, of course,” Rosenblut said. “But from what we know about her and what her loved ones have shared with us, it was incredibly important to her to exemplify that everyone deserves the same sort of Greek life experience, whatever that may be.”
Current Remembrance Scholar Nick Dekaney, who is honoring Smith’s legacy this year, said he was introduced to the program after visiting Lockerbie, Scotland, with the Hendricks Chapel choir.
“We performed there. We spent a day there, and it was an extremely powerful experience for me, obviously very emotional,” Dekaney said. “I slowly started to understand the purpose of why we were going and what had happened in 1988 and the relationship that exists between our university and Lockerbie.”
Even though Remembrance Scholars don’t choose the victim they honor, Dekaney said being picked to honor and learn about Smith is “even more symbolic” of the process, along with the opportunity to learn about her “incredibly positive” character.
Dekaney said he spent around two and a half hours going through Smith’s archives in Bird Library, reading letters her sorority sisters wrote to her family in her memorial service book.
Smith’s former classmate, Amy Mae Neil, wrote a letter to her family, reflecting on her smile and laughter, saying the interactions will “remain one in our happy memories,” according to the Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives at SU Libraries.
“You just get an understanding of how caring she was,” Dekaney said. “(It’s) the best way to view her character, the way that other people speak about her, and her impact on the people around her.”
Alongside the scholarship, SU’s Gamma chapter will also plant a garden in front of its sorority house. Lebersfeld said the garden will include flowers, lights and a plaque commemorating Smith as a sister.
“(It’s) going to be something that is always going to be at our house. That way, anytime somebody wants to honor Cynthia, it’s a really good way to kind of spread the word, because it’s on our front lawn,” Lebersfeld said. “Anyone who walks past will be able to see, and it’s a really great way just to spread her legacy by word of mouth.”
Smith’s presence is not forgotten in DPhiE. The Gamma chapter talks about her often, Rosenblut said, and sisters often reminisce about her impact on the chapter.
“It’s a really great way to continue someone’s legacy, to talk about them and keep their memory alive,” Rosenblut said.
DISCLAIMER: Gracie Lebersfeld is a columnist for The Daily Orange. She did not impact the editorial content of this story.
