WEB MEMORIAL SET UP FOR SLAIN STUDENTS

Published: Friday, June 11, 1999

NEWS 09B

By Steven Cook

Dispatch Staff Reporter

Grieving over last week's slayings of two Franciscan University of Steubenville students has moved from memorial services and gatherings of friends and family to the Internet.

"This was a horrifying tragedy that has touched everyone that knew both of these young men,'' a Franciscan student wrote on a Web site dedicated to the two slain students.

"They truly were two special people . . . God bless the families and God bless the souls of these two lights.''

More than 20 messages of condolences and grief over the deaths of Brian Muha, 18, of Westerville and Aaron Land, 20, of Philadelphia have been posted on the memorial Web site since Monday. The site has been viewed more than 600 times since then.

Muha and Land were taken from their off-campus apartment in Steubenville, Ohio, on May 31 and killed. Three suspects are being held on charges relating to thedeaths.

Messages on the Web site range from remembrances of time spent with Muha and Land to simple prayers for their families.

One visitor to the site recalled the time she said she met Muha at a rally in Washington, D.C.

"During that meeting I truly saw that he was a light of Christ,'' she wrote. "I just want the families and everyone mourning over this horrible tragedy to know that these two wonderful men and their families are kept in my prayers daily.''

The site's administrator, Franciscan junior Jim Schumacher, said the site is designed to memorialize the slain students, as well as serve as an outlet for grief over their deaths. Schumacher, who had taken a class with Land, but didn't know Muha, is at home in Seattle on summer break.

"I think it's wonderful that that many people would show their support for the families and offer their prayers for Brian and Aaron,'' Schumacher said from Seattle.

He said that in addition to the 20 messages on the site, he's received more than 25 e-mail messages from students and alumni in support of the families.

Dennis Pipp, a friend of Land's, wrote of a road trip he took with Land to Florida in 1998.

"We drove all night,'' wrote Pipp, a 1998 Franciscan graduate. "The conversations were amazing. Aaron was such a great guy, believing in God was only the beginning for him. It wasn't just his faith that inspired me, but his loyalty and camaraderie''

From his home in Arizona, Pipp said he sent a message as a form of therapy for himself, but also "so people could relate to how fun of a person he really was.''

Muha's brother said yesterday he did not know about the Web site, but called the response "awesome.''

"It's just a continuance of everything that's been going on the past week. The love we've had from family, friends and even strangers, has just been amazing,'' Chris Muha said. "It's really great to see people brought together by something like this.''

Schumacher said he plans to keep the memorial on his site at least until he graduates from Franciscan.

The site can be viewed at:

pages.prodigy.net/jimts/memorial.htm