Even in the face of grief over the loss of its own, the Pepperdine University community aimed to make Alaina Housley’s memorial service one filled with music, laughter and love.
“We are intentionally starting this memorial with music. Alaina was passionate about music and was known for her voice,” Sara Barton, university chaplain, said at the service, which took place at the Firestone Fieldhouse last Wednesday, Nov. 28.
Peers described Alaina as a social butterfly, a top scholar, a fantastic listener, a chocolate lover (with a deep love of the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf’s dark chocolate ice-blended mochas, according to her father), a Harry Potter fan, a Pepperdine Wave and a sister in Christ, according to Barton.
Housley, an 18-year-old Pepperdine freshman, was one of 12 victims of the Borderline Bar & Grill mass shooting.
“On Nov. 7, Alaina finished her homework as well as her mock trial work she needed to do. She was invited to go line dancing in a place that Hannah [her mother] and I used to go when we were here,” her father, Arik Housley, said at the service. “We encouraged her and we would do it all again.”
In addressing the Pepperdine community, Arik invoked his Christian faith, repeatedly stating, “Life happens for a reason.”
He also implored the government and media to take action against gun violence.
“Our government should do more background checks before taking these people into our military, teaching them to be trained killers and then trying to ask them to acclimate back into society,” he said. The gunman, a Thousand Oaks resident, was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.
Hannah thanked the Pepperdine community for their support, calling the university “a refuge” in the hours and days following the mass shooting.
The family has started a nonprofit organization called Alaina’s Voice. Its goal is threefold: First, it demands the media stop printing the names of those behind the violent acts; second, it aims to help provide mental health support, especially for veterans; and third, it promotes a “be kind” movement, fostering positive relationships among peers.
Arik stressed this wasn’t as much about gun control as acting against gun violence in an earlier phone call with The Malibu Times.
“I don’t know his name and I prefer to keep it that way,” he said of the Borderline shooter.
Following the parents’ message, Alaina’s suitemates—the women of DeBell F suite—took the chance to honor their fallen friend.
Lauren Drake sang one of her roommate’s favorite songs—”On My Own” from the musical Les Misérables. The rest—Haley Brouwer, Pari Cribbins, Bridget Johnson, Ashley Mowreader, Zoë Walsh and Alicia Yu—took turns reading scripture.
“If I have the ability to speak about this amazing girl on behalf of the student body, I think we should remember that Alaina was a light,” Pepperdine senior Katie White said.
Assistant professor of religion Chris Doran—a longtime friend of the Housleys—asked, “But what words of comfort do you say when words do not seem adequate? What do you say to make sense of something that was so senseless?
“We as a community need to remember that this may be the first time someone next to us has encountered death so intimately, that this may be the first time some of us have grieved so intensely,” Doran stated.
He had strong words for fighting gun violence: “We will need courage not to become numb to gun violence that has taken the lives of too many and we will need courage to replace our local and national leaders who have failed us by becoming numb to gun violence, themselves.”
The mood remained solemn as groups of students and community members congregated outside to talk and enjoy Alaina’s favorite ice cream.
In explanation, Barton said: “Alaina was a young person and I believe memorials for young people should reflect the love of that young person so that’s why we heard [music from Pepperdine musical group] The Filharmonic. It’s why you will find one of Alaina’s favorite kinds of ice cream at the reception afterward: Ben & Jerry’s “The Tonight Dough.”
For more about Alaina’s Voice, visit alainasvoice.org.
