UNC Chapel Hill students honor slain classmate
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- More than 350 students at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill's dental school held a day of service Thursday to honor a slain classmate and his wife.
Deah Barakat and his wife Yusor Abu-Salha were two of three people killed at a Chapel Hill apartment complex in February. North Carolina State University student Razan Abu-Salha was the other victim.
The volunteers, honoring the slain students at 22 different work sites, called the day of service DEAH DAY.
DEAH DAY stands for Directing Efforts And Honoring Deah And Yusor.
A neighbor of the couple, Craig Hicks, awaits trial on murder charges. It has not been decided whether prosecutors will seek federal hate crime charges against him.
Chick here to view photos of the victims
Instead of hate, friends and family are focusing on service.
"I came in here and start crying," said Namee Barakat, Deah's father. "Seeing all these beautiful guys and girls doing what they can do help the situation and do something Deah always loved to do with a lot of passion."
DEAH DAY was planned by students who wanted to do something lasting to remember their classmate. It's supported by the Dental Foundation of North Carolina, and dental students got the entire day off to participate.
The students plan for DEAH Day to be an annual event.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
