The University of Minnesota held a service Wednesday afternoon to honor alumni Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, who were killed Saturday in what officials are calling a targeted act of political violence.
Leaders, administrators and members of the campus community gathered in Northrop Auditorium and reflected on Melissa and Mark Hortman’s contributions to public service. Speakers also recognized Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, who were critically wounded and survived an attack by the same shooter.
President Rebecca Cunningham spoke at the service, remarking on the achievements and contributions of the Hortmans, as well as the University’s commitment to continuing the Hortmans’ legacy and honoring their memory.
Cunningham said the tragedy of the violence was contradictory to the Hortmans’ values and actions, each having dedicated their lives to public service and defending democracy.
“The killing, the violence and the terror that took place last weekend were the other antithesis of what Melissa and Mark lived for,” Cunningham said. “Those events are also the antithesis of who we are as a university.”
Cunningham said that as an intentional community, members of the University must come together and continue to push each other towards greater excellence.
“We join this community because we believe in the power of our collective thought and action,” Cunningham said. “We know that, however different, even opposed our individual perspectives and ideas are, we are never alone as we face our challenges.”
William McGeveran, dean of the University Law School, shared reflections of Rep. Hortman by former colleagues and noted her impact as both a public servant and an alumnus of the school.
McGeveran said Myron Orfield, University professor of civil rights law and former legislator who had known Hortman for over 30 years, said she lived a meaningful life and would want others to find resolve, not despair, in her passing.
Nisha Botchwey, Dean of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, commented on the importance of public service in shaping community and the need for more courageous leaders like Hortman.
“Let this moment not just move us emotionally, let it move us civically,” Botchwey said.
The service concluded with a moment of community healing led by Mary Jo Kreitzer, director of the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing.
A vigil for the Hortmans’ was held outside the state capitol building Wednesday evening, which saw more than 1,000 individuals in attendance, including state Gov. Tim Walz, according to the Star Tribune.
“As a country we cannot become numb to this violence,” Walz said in a press release following the apprehension of shooter Vance Boelter. “The way we move forward and solve the problems facing our nation is not through hate. It is not through violence. It is through humility, and grace, and civility.” Boelter, 57, was arrested Sunday after the largest manhunt in the state’s history, according to law enforcement officials. Boelter is facing federal and state charges, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder, according to the Department of Justice.