| TRIBUTES
Good
evening. My name is Linda Silverstein and this is my husband Robert and our son,
Jamey. We stand before you tonight first and foremost as loving parents. We are
the mother and father of two wonderful children – our 15 year-old son Jamey who
is here with us tonight and Emily Rachel, our 19 year-old daughter, whose life
was tragically and violently taken just three weeks ago while a student at Gettysburg
College. We mourn her loss to our family, both nuclear and extended, including
a host of exceptional friends, with Cecelia Ticktin, a Penn State Musical Theater
student, heading that list. Emily’s oldest, dearest friend, Cecelia appealed to
this community to sponsor tonight’s event in such a timely and receptive way.
A lover of all the Arts, Emily would be touched. We thank you sincerely for this
opportunity. We
also stand before you tonight as fellow humans, compelled to share not only our
personal loss, but the legacy left behind by our passionate and socially responsible
daughter. Emily was always curious about the broader world she lived in, and as
she reached her teens, she pursued knowledge and activity that sought to change
the wrongs she identified. She was active in Amnesty International, formed a chapter
of Students for a Democratic Society and was co-president of Peace Club which
operated out of the Peace House she lived in. She was also involved in homelessness
awareness and Free the Children. Her interest in human rights in the Middle East
led to the study of Arabic with a plan to study in Morocco this fall. We encourage
all of you, in your own lives, in your own way to make a difference in the lives
of others locally or globally. Participate, rally, donate, write, build, boycott,
sit-in, sit-out. Listen, open your heart, open your mind. We
started the Emily Silverstein Fund immediately following our daughter’s death.
Its purpose is to fund scholarships and inspire and channel youth toward activity
in peace, social justice and environmental and global sustainability. Your presence
here tonight contributes to this cause which ultimately helps all of us Thanks
to all of you involved in this production for your time, energy and hard work.
Emily,
we love you. Linda
B. Silverstein
(Emily's Mom)
At the 5/01/09 Benefit Concert at Penn State
University |
