The Search for Harsha Maddula: This is not about you
September 27, 2012
In the past, Daily staffs have used editorials to speak from our position as journalists in an attempt to reshape or add a new perspective to campus debates. Today, we speak as students heartbroken over the disappearance of one of our own, and we have a plea: If you know something about the disappearance of Harsha Maddula, speak up.
If you have information that might help us locate the McCormick sophomore — you saw him early Saturday morning, or you heard someone talking about him before his friends lost contact with him — you may be afraid. Maybe you were drinking underage. Maybe you don’t want your name in national news stories. Maybe you worry about being implicated in a terrible situation. But this isn’t about you.
Every minute that Harsha is missing is another one of anguish for his family and friends, many of whom have put their lives on hold to come to Evanston and look for their beloved son, nephew, cousin, friend. It is another minute that a diabetic may not have the medicine he needs to survive. It is another minute that our community remains incomplete.
This could have happened to any one of us. From what we know, Harsha followed appropriate steps to have a safe night out: he was not drinking heavily, he traveled in a group and he stayed in contact with friends as he walked between locations. Many of us have done the same or worse and still gotten home safely.
We are encouraged by the unity the NU community has shown in the wake of Harsha’s disappearance. University officials have offered protection to students wishing to report information anonymously. Student groups have canceled meetings and joined search parties instead. Freshmen who arrived in Evanston seven short days ago have taken time out of their busy orientation schedules to look for someone they have never met, simply because he is a fellow Wildcat. Support has likewise poured in from beyond campus in both official and unofficial capacities, bolstering the strength of our search.
What troubles us is that the timeline of Sept. 22 remains unclear — some crucial piece of the puzzle is missing. We join the calls asking students to aid the investigation in any way possible. The search for Harsha should be prioritized over everything else happening on campus. We do not expect students to skip their first classes or ignore their responsibilities — we, after all, will continue to publish a daily newspaper — but if you have time, we hope that you will join the rest of the NU community in helping to bring Harsha home.
If you have any information relating to Harsha’s whereabouts, contact University Police at 847-491-3254.
This editorial is the opinion of the following members of The Daily's editorial board: Marshall Cohen, Devan Coggan, Michele Corriston, Joseph Diebold, Susan Du, Mariam Gomaa, Paulina Firozi, Kaitlyn Jakola, Tanner Maxwell, Tom Meyer, Kimmy Railey and Patrick Svitek.
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Excellent editorial. As the mother of a recent NU graduate, my heart is breaking for Harsha's family. I agree that some students may be reluctant to come forward with information because they fear getting themselves into trouble. Students can report information anonymously, so that should allay these fears. If you are a student with any information at all, no matter how insignificant you think it may be, I urge you to think about what YOUR family and friends might be going through if YOU vanished without a trace. And then make the call.
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My heart is absolutely breaking for the mother, family and friends of young Harsha - he came to campus early to help frosh students like my McCormick daughter move in. We could not have been more overwhelmed by the loving embrace of this community of people AS WELL AS extraordinary learning institution. I left Evanston and my teen on September 22 too - and it's just so ESSENTIAL to ALL parents that this community turn out everything they can to get every possible detail and shred of hope for Harsha's family - OUR family. Dhanna and Prasad you are NOT alone in your grief or your wait - we ALL wait with you and hold you close in our hearts and prayers.
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colleen carroll Reply:
September 27th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
I agree. I can't imagine the horror this family is living in. I pray that anyone who knows anything comes forward and that Harsha is found unharmed.
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A petition is being filed with White House to seek White House's help in getting more co-operation from University officials and police. If what I heard is right, University Officials and Police have not allowed FBI or the local police to speak to the students who were last known to be with Harsha.
Please sign this petition with White House. For the petition to be taken seriously by White House, 25,000 signatures are needed. As of 1:55 PM CST, there were about 1506 signatures gathered. Lot more to be done by tomorrow.
Here is the link --> http://wh.gov/BNB9.
Also see facebook page for more details --> http://www.facebook.com/groups/HarshaMaddula/.
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Very well said. Thank you. No one deserves the suffering this family is experiencing. Sometimes courage is a requirement, not just a laudable option.
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oh completely agreed, standing together at this time is the best thing that we can all do. dealing with a missing son is hard enough without the roadblocks introduced by an unsupportive community. I applaud the daily for writing this story! I think it takes courage as well on the part of these writers to say what they have said, and as a former student of this university, I say if the whole student body needs to be questioned, so be it. I ask everyone at this university and in the general public, what would you want done if this was your baby?
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Jeremy Reply:
September 27th, 2012 at 9:01 pm
Do we know that there are roadblocks introduced by an unsupportive community? I'm a little confused by this editorial. I haven't heard anything about students or NU being unwilling to help with the search.
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Sara Reply:
September 27th, 2012 at 9:31 pm
merely saying that if the community had been unsupportive, that would have been very difficult for the family. and that this was not the case, obviously there has been a lot of student support. And i think it definitely means something to a family to see that they are not alone. and i doubt a lot of these people posting the picture as their facebook profile, etc, spreading the news, really have nothing better to do than self-promote by these means. the family wanted the news to go to media outlets, and they wanted an investigation by more than the university police, and the effort of passing the word around to everyone and keeping them informed has helped make this a nationally recognized issue.
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I heavily expect that this will receive a LOT of flak, but I'll say it anyway: I can't help but think that a lot of these campaigns are very much about "ourselves", in that those involved want to feel like they helped, that they did good. And if the search parties do work, so much the better! But really...do vigils in dining halls actually do anything? I suppose making your profile pic into the missing poster could technically help, but comeon...if you were really in it for Harsha, you'd do more than just support...you'd take action. Note, again, that I'm not lambasting those who actually participate in said actions or completely denying the fact that such shows of unity can be supportive to his family, but at some point, I look at everything and wonder "what do they hope to accomplish with this newest display of sententiousness?"
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Sara Reply:
September 27th, 2012 at 9:37 pm
there were vigils that were specifically held to show the family that they had support. i think that means something to a family. its why people go to wakes and the like, to show their support for somebody who has been through a lot. these people werent just sitting around partying there. a lot of them were those that were participating in the searches. so they were taking more action than you are just sitting at your computer expressing nastier sentiments at people who are actually trying to make a difference.
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Thank you for writing this editorial. It says what a lot of us are thinking.. that the facts we've heard are incomplete, and we feel that someone somewhere must know something more. I'd hate to think that any NU students would be hiding anything, but unfortunately we know, from other schools, that sometimes in the heat and panic of some event, it happens. Thanks for appealing to everyone to help in any way they can.
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/evanston/chi-missing-evanston-student-20120925,0,3006536.story
May Harsha rest in peace and may God bring some measure of solace to his parents, family, and friends in this incredibly, unimaginably difficult period in their lives. =[
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Wishing the family and friends of Harsha the blessing of healing. Can't imagine their suffering. Hope they can find the strength to get through this ordeal and have the chance to grieve.
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