Caleb Wilson, a 20-year-old junior mechanical engineering student at Southern University and A&M College, died on February 27.
Family and friends of Caleb Wilson, the 20-year-old Southern University and A&M College student who died after an alleged hazing incident, are preparing to honor him with a funeral and a public memorial.
On Friday, March 14, the family of Wilson will host a public memorial service at Southern University and A&M College’s F.G. Clark Activity Center, according to a post on the school’s Facebook.
A viewing will be held from noon to 5 p.m., with the memorial service immediately following.
The next day, on Saturday, March 15, Wilson will be laid to rest at his home church, Pilgrim Baptist Church in Kenner, La., reported local NBC affiliate WDSU 6. Visitation will begin at 8 a.m., with the funeral to follow at 10 a.m., and a burial at Providence Memorial Park and Mausoleum.
Wilson, who was a junior mechanical engineering student and a member of Southern University’s Human Jukebox marching band, died on February 27 after he participated in an off-campus fraternity hazing ritual. Initially, there were claims Wilson had collapsed in a field while standing in a line. Sources later told authorities that the story was fabricated and instead, Wilson had collapsed after he received blows to the chest while in a warehouse off-campus.
Three arrests have been made in connection with the death, and criminal hazing charges have been filed against at least one of the suspects.
Since his death, friends and family throughout Louisiana have paid tribute to him in various ways. In early March, he was remembered during vigils at Southern University and Pilgrim Baptist Church. On Thursday, March 6, a memorial second line in his honor made its way through New Orleans’ Tremé neighborhood.
Wilson’s family released a statement expressing their “deepest gratitude” for all of the love, support, and prayers they have received.
“The loss of Caleb has left an unimaginable void in our hearts, but your kindness and compassion have provided some solace,” the family wrote. “Caleb was a bright and talented young man with a promising future ahead of him. His passion for life, his dedication to his studies, and his love for music and the Southern University “Human Jukebox” Marching Band were just a few of the many qualities that made him an extraordinary person.”
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