By Meghan Talsma<\/p>\n
Levi Neuwirth has driven the stretch of highway between Rhode Island and the Hudson Valley more times than he can count. This weekend, that familiar drive felt different. By the time he crossed back into New York, he was returning from a campus forever changed.<\/p>\n
Neuwirth, a senior at Brown University and a 2022 graduate of Wallkill High School, was on campus when a shooting unfolded inside the Barus and Holley Engineering Building on Saturday afternoon on December 13. Though he narrowly missed being near the building when the incident occurred, the hours that followed\u2013marked by fear, confusion, and an overwhelming wait for answers\u2014remain vivid.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had just gotten back to my dorm and put my phone away to study,\u201d he said. \u201cThe first thing I heard was my best friend calling me\u2014not to say hello, but just asking, \u2018Where are you?\u2019 I knew immediately something was very wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
As emergency alerts began to circulate and sirens filled the air, Neuwirth barricaded himself inside his dorm room, sheltering in place for hours while police searched campus. Helicopters circled overhead. Conflicting reports spread quickly\u2014first suggesting a suspect was in custody, then walking that back\u2014deepening the sense of uncertainty that gripped students.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe waiting was the hardest part,\u201d he said. \u201cNot knowing who was okay. Not knowing what the outcome would be. And knowing that whatever we were waiting for was going to be devastating, no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the fear, Neuwirth said what stood out most was the way the Brown community responded almost immediately\u2014through constant check-ins, shared information, and a collective instinct to look out for one another.
\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever received that many calls or texts in my life,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom close friends, from acquaintances, from people I hadn\u2019t spoken to in years. Everyone was just trying to make sure everyone else was okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sense of togetherness continued into the early morning hours, as students were escorted out of buildings and relocated, and later as the city of Providence held a vigil honoring the two students who lost their lives.
By Sunday morning, once the shelter-in-place order was lifted, Neuwirth left campus to reunite with his family. The drive home\u2014along highways he has traveled countless times\u2014felt different.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never been so happy to see the \u2018Welcome to New York\u2019 sign,\u201d he said. \u201cComing home gave me space to breathe, process, remember that there\u2019s so much I love about that community\u2014and that I will return to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now back in the Hudson Valley, Neuwirth says the change in scenery has helped him begin to make sense of what happened, even as the emotional weight lingers. He emphasizes that while the trauma is real, it does not define Brown\u2014or the people who make up its campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t going to destroy the community,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to take away the joy or the love that exists there. What I saw was kindness, courage, and people refusing to let fear win.\u201d<\/p>\n
For local families with children away at college, Neuwirth hopes his story serves as both reassurance and reminder\u2014to check in, to stay connected, and to hold space for one another.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese events are anomalies,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re horrific, but they\u2019re not the norm. And the response, the humanity, that\u2019s what we should be focusing on.\u201d<\/p>\n
As students disperse for the semester\u2019s end, Neuwirth says he carries both grief and gratitude with him\u2014grief for what was lost, and gratitude for the people who showed up when it mattered most.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is real evil in the world,\u201d he said. \u201cBut there is so much more goodness. I felt it everywhere\u2014on campus, on my phone, and now back home.\u201d<\/p>\n
For those who want to support the Brown community in the wake of the tragedy, Neuwirth noted that verified GoFundMe pages have been created for the families of the two students who lost their lives. Links to the fundraiser can be found at gofundme.com\/c\/act\/brown-university-shooting-relief.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Meghan Talsma Levi Neuwirth has driven the stretch of highway between Rhode Island and the Hudson Valley…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81012,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[13868,8140,9868,30156,4619,3056,2538,9,11,10,49,51,50,40036,12434,322,2577,6124,40037,38018,1302,40034,40033,40035],"class_list":{"0":"post-81325","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-calendar","9":"tag-classifieds","10":"tag-cooking","11":"tag-engagements","12":"tag-events","13":"tag-festivals","14":"tag-music","15":"tag-new-york","16":"tag-new-york-headlines","17":"tag-new-york-news","18":"tag-new-york-state","19":"tag-new-york-state-headlines","20":"tag-new-york-state-news","21":"tag-ny-schools","22":"tag-obits","23":"tag-obituaries","24":"tag-outdoors","25":"tag-pets","26":"tag-public-notices","27":"tag-recreation","28":"tag-restaurant","29":"tag-southern-ulster","30":"tag-things-to-do-around-hudson-valley-ny","31":"tag-wallkill-valley"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}