The Story of the Stuff: Issues in Temporary Memorial Preservation Main MenuWhat Are Temporary Memorials?A DefinitionThe Problem of Temporary MemorialsEssential Questions to BeginCase StudiesCase Studies IntroductionTexas A&M & the Bonfire Memorabilia CollectionCase StudyVirginia Tech & the April 16th Condolence ArchiveCase StudySandy Hook Elementary & the Story of the StuffCase StudyFurther StudyQuestions & Recommended ReadingsAshley Maynor5adce0171052a8cc24f02b7c0a0c96951154dfb5Self-Reliant Film
Staggering Quantities
12015-09-16T17:17:22-07:00Ashley Maynor5adce0171052a8cc24f02b7c0a0c96951154dfb560701A visualization of the growth of condolence outpourings.plain2015-09-16T17:17:22-07:00The Story of the Stuff v2Ashley Maynor5adce0171052a8cc24f02b7c0a0c96951154dfb5
On December 14th, 2012, a lone gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, killing twenty-six people. Because of the profile of the victims (twenty of those killed were children), the tragedy sparked an especially large outpouring of grief from around the world. As in the case of Virginia Tech, the result was an incredible amount of temporary memorial and condolence material that would demand a great deal of attention of effort to process.
However, unlike the cases at both Texas A&M and Virginia Tech, where the tragedies were connected to larger institutions which assumed responsibility for handling the materials, it was unclear who would lead the efforts to manage and preserve the condolence materials in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting.
Several individuals stepped up to the task in overlapping ways.
