It was a year ago on Monday, January 25, that Dennis Hayle’s life was tragically ended in a fatal shooting. Even without his presence, Hayle’s impact is still felt in the hearts of many.

At exactly 1:05 p.m., several hundred students lined the “greek lane” in front of Murphy Hall and prepared to march from the Omega Psi Phi plot to Stallings Ballroom in the Memorial Student Union in remembrance of Hayle.  Their march took them past the Williams Cafeteria, down through the middle of the Aggie Village, and back up on John Mitchell Drive, which was blocked off by campus police, before entering the Union.

Hayle used to work in the union, so marching to the ballroom also carried extra significance. Sherrelle Burt, Editor in Chief of the Ayantee yearbook, and a winner of the Miss Omega Psi Phi pageant, paid a special tribute to Hayle at the program.

“I met him like the third or fourth day I came here,” Burt said. “I was asked to sing for the program, and since he [Hayle] was a significant part of my life, I felt like that song (‘His Eye is On The Sparrow’) was appropriate,” Burt said. “It was a short program, but it was sweet and very to the point. “

Burt said that despite the program’s short nature, the impact was felt by all in attendance. She said she was amazed at how many people joined in to help celebrate Hayle.

“I thought it was so beautiful to be marching and everyone was just joining us, and it just showed that he had a significant impact on a lot of people on campus,” she said. “You would have thought we were walking for a celebrity or something.”

With both ballrooms opened in Stallings, and the room overflowing with people, the atmosphere was somber, yet the purpose was celebratory. It began with five members of the Mu Psi chapter lighting candles in recognition of Hayle’s line number.

“It was a great turnout. It just shows how many lives that he touched,” said senior sports science and fitness management major, Jamil Sutton. “We wanted to bring awareness, not only to what we’ve experienced, but to any crime in the campus community and let people know that they’re not the only ones who have experienced it.”

The Mu Psi chapter plans for this to be an annual event that simultaneously remembers their fraternity brother while promoting an end to all kinds of violence in the community.

• Dexter R. Mullins & Malcolm S. Eustache