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It may not be time for another blog this week, but sometimes one just needs to be written.

It has been upon all of our Ogle-minds lately that one of our own is missing. Erik Downes, vice-president of the student body and an RA, disappeared off the coast of Costa Rice while swimming with fellow students and professors. They still haven't found him.

I don't know the guy. I've never met him, and I don't know if we were even at Oglethorpe at the same time.

But like C.S. Lewis said, "Once a king or queen in Narnia, always a king or queen in Narnia." The same goes for Oglethorpe, because once we're a Petrel, we're always a Petrel. We've all been there, walked the quad, pulled all-nighters in the library, partied on Greek Row. We're united, always, no matter where we go or what we do. It doesn't matter if we know each other or not, it doesn't matter if we still attend Oglethorpe or not. Once something of this magnitude hits our campus, it hits us.

Life is fragile. We know that. But what's really sad, what's really tragic, is that it takes someone else disappearing, or God forbid, worse, for us to realize that.

A petrel, for those of you who don't know, is Oglethorpe's mascot. It is a seabird, known to fly across oceans and through storms, unwavering in their knowledge that land (the goal) is just over the horizon. Nothing stops them. It's a fitting name for us students - we fight through the tiredness, the sleepless nights, the never ending papers and assignments, and always arrive triumphant at the goal. Nothing stops us.

Just like nothing will stop Erik - he is a Petrel.

Nescit Cedere - Oglethorpe's motto - he does not know how to give up.

Ogle-love forever.