NEWS
As the nation looks to the sky in remembrance of Saturday's space shuttle disaster, a group of students lowered their heads to the ground in reverence.To honor Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, who died onboard Columbia, members of MSU's Hillel Jewish Student Center, 360 Charles St., sat in prayer during a candlelight vigil Monday, allowing students to reflect on the loss of the hero."A lot of students do care very much about what happened and this isn't just for the Israelis, it's for all of the astronauts to remember them," Vice President Sherie Rappoport said.The flame of a single candle cast a soft glow on photographs and biographies of the seven Columbia crew members.Weinstein opened the vigil with a brief biography of each astronaut."The vigil is not to focus on the sadness but to commemorate the legacy," Program Director Shira Weinstein said, adding the group wanted a big part of the message of the vigil to be one of community and sharing.About 15 people gathered to remember those lost during the shuttle's disintegration - and to celebrate living life to its fullest, a concept the astronauts lived and died for, Rabbi Aryeh Ben David said.Ben David, a rabbi at Pardes Institute in Jerusalem, spoke soft words in Hebrew."A person who lives for himself or herself is not really alive," said Ben David, who is visiting East Lansing to work with community groups.