IUS students honor life of 19-year-old killed in crash on way back from a friend’s funeral

By TARA HETTINGER
Tara.Hettinger@newsandtribune.com

August 28, 2008 12:40 pm

— On Greek Day, members of the various fraternities and sororities at Indiana University Southeast came together not to promote their organizations, like they usually do on this day, but to help one another grieve.
On Tuesday afternoon, one of their own, James “Ryan” Shawver, a former IUS student and member of Pi Kappa Alpha, was killed in a head-on collision in Martin County.
His fraternity’s president, Taylor Lee, said Shawver, 19, was driving home after attending a friend’s funeral when the accident happened. Shawver died at the scene.
On Wednesday morning, IUS police assisted fraternity members in moving the campus flags to half-mast, as well as raising their fraternity’s flag to fly just below the IUS flag.
Shortly after, fraternity members, people from other Greek organizations and others gathered at the flag poles to have a moment of silence, share their favorite memories of Shawver and to help one another cope.
“It’s quite a hit to start school off,” Daniel Rumbley, Pi Kappa Alpha member, told the crowd. “This is supposed to be Greek Day.”
About 70 people came and went during the afternoon memorial. Later that night, they gathered at the same spot for a candlelight vigil.
Lee said Shawver was an accounting major and a person who everyone liked.
“I’ve never seen in my life a kid at 19 that had more character than Ryan Shawver did,” Lee said. “He was a man of his word. If he told you he’d do something, he did it.
“Everybody loved him. I’ve never heard him have a cross word with anybody. Come to think of it, I’ve never even heard him raise his voice.”
Many of those at the vigils wore garnet and gold ribbons, signifying Shawver’s fraternity, which Lee said Shawver had a great love and pride for.
Erica Walsh, public relations specialist for IUS, said Shawver was not currently enrolled in classes at the college, but was enrolled as recently as last semester.
“Any time a member of the IU Southeast community is lost, our campus feels the effects,” Walsh said in a written statement. “Our sympathies go to the family and Shawver’s fraternity brothers in Pi Kappa Alpha.”
She added that the university has a counselor available for students.
Lee said Greek recruitment events at IUS for the next week have been canceled.
“Just a stand-up guy like Ryan,” Lee said, pausing. “It hits us real hard. But the impact on his family is exponential.”

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