Markley dedicates lounge for student

Hoping to memorialize the life of a former resident adviser, staffers at Mary Markley residence hall will rename one of the building's lounges in honor of Arati Sharangpani.

Sharangpani was killed when Comair flight 3272 crashed outside Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Jan. 9, 1997. All 29 passengers and crew members died in the crash. Markley staffers will formally change the name of the Concourse Lounge to the Sharangpani Lounge later this semester.

Sharangpani

The mission to dedicate the lounge was led by T. Rose Roane, the coordinator of residence education at Markley.

"We really wanted to do something that would be remembered," Roane said.

She said most residence halls have a high turnover rate and house primarily first-year students and sophomores. Because of this, residents who knew Sharangpani are quickly dispersing, leaving few people at Markley who remember her. Establishing a permanent memorial is important, Roane said.

Those who knew Sharangpani described her as a friendly, outgoing person.

"Arati was a ray of sunshine," said LSA senior Sama Faik, who worked as a co-resident adviser with Sharangpani. "She always walked around with a smile on her face."

Sharangpani, a Business senior, worked as an RA in the 21st Century Program for two years. Through her work, she both proctored her hall and led classes to acclimate first-year students to the University.

Her death dealt an emotional blow to the Markley staff.

"It was tragic," said Faik. "It's taken me personally a long time to recover. She affected all of our lives. She taught us that life is short. You should go out and get the most out of it while you can.

"Her hall was shaken," Faik continued. "For awhile, that was the quietest hall in Markley."

Sharangpani's passing led many to reflect about the fragility of life.

"When anybody that's well known dies, everyone pauses to think about life, the brevity of life," said Jason Wilkinson, an Engineering sophomore who lived on Sharangpani's hall. "It catches you off guard. You go away, and you come back, and that person isn't there."

The name change required some bureaucratic approval from University Housing. It took most of this past year for Roane to win approval for the dedication.

"There's a University policy with respect to naming facilities," said Alan Levy, director of Housing public affairs. There was no defense of the old name, "Concourse Lounge," Levy said, but the renaming still had to be considered carefully.

"We want to make sure that (a name) is appropriate, that there aren't competing interests who haven't been considered," Levy said.

Levy said there are two routes to renaming a building or room on campus. The naming of significant structures is only done with approval of the University Board of Regents. Less noticeable, uncontested name changes, such as this one, can be done with approval of Maureen Hartford, vice president for student affairs.

Levy pointed out that every year a number of staff, students and faculty die, but not all can receive memorials.

Roane said the Sharangpani dedication was approved largely because Sharangpani was not only a student but also an adviser and instructor whose engaging personality made her a significant part of the Markley community.

On the one-year anniversary of Sharangpani's death, Roane, Faik and other Markley staffers held a celebration at Good Time Charley's restaurant to remember Sharangpani.

01-16-98