A memorial has recently been uncovered in the Media Center courtyard that is dedicated in memory of Marian Moser and Matthew Zajkowski. This memorial was a gift from the Class of 1963 and commemorates two of their classmates who died far too soon. Zajkowski died of brief illness when he was a senior and Moser was shot and killed by her father on Christmas Day of her sophomore year.

Current Black Knights walk the same hallways as Moser and Zajkowski, yet none of them have ever heard of the two-and that is a shame. What happened to gone and not forgotten? A memorial, by definition, is “something designed to preserve the memory of a person, event, etc.,” not something designed to get covered in leaves, weeds, etc. We should not let the memory of those who walked the halls before us be covered up and forgotten. That is disrespectful to them, their families and loved ones, and to the Class of 1963.

These two students never got to toss their graduation caps, or go to college, or start a career, or get married, or have kids. Their lives were taken from them before they truly began.  If you are reading this, you are lucky. Chances are you have outlived at least one of these students, and for that you can consider yourself blessed.

So now the choice is up to you, Stamford High Community; how do you want to spend this extra time that has been granted to you? Either go back to scrolling through the Twitter feed that you found this article on, or give Moser and Zajkowski the respect they deserve by working to keep their memorial in pristine condition? Braving the cold and getting the job done is the least we can do for these two.

We call upon Stamford High’s National Honor Society, whose members have made it their mission to start a Campus Cleanup Project, to place the Media Center courtyard at the top of their list. If you are not a part of the National Honor Society, don’t be deterred; this project calls for as many hands as possible and the help of the entire SHS community. Security Guard Frank Russo, who told us about the memorial, believes there are other memorials, though he can’t remember where they are located. More tragedy may hide in the jungle that is the Media Center courtyard.

Many may question why we would put time and energy into cleaning up a courtyard that we aren’t allowed into, but the discussion of being allowed outside is one for another day. This is not a matter of outdoor enjoyment; this is a matter of respect and responsibility to those fallen Black Knights.

We urge you: do it to preserve the memory of those in the past, to have pride in what causes you’re standing up for in the present, and to set an example of respect for future generations to follow.