Karina Barriga Albring
Equinox Staff
Semester-long projects, never-ending readings and loads of homework could make anybody believe college life is a living torture. Almost every student has or will experience this at some point, and he or she will certainly hate it. This was not the case for Silas River Bennett, Keene State College journalism student, class of 2009.
Nobel Prize award winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez said journalism is “the best job in the world;” it is all about passion. One example of this is the memory of Silas Bennett.
But, Bennett’s dreams were interrupted shortly before his twenty-ninth birthday. In the fall of 2007, Bennett, known to his friends and family as Sy, found out he suffered from a disease that would shrink life away from his bones in less than a year.
Bennett’s impact did not end at KSC with his death. Thanks to his mom’s constant efforts, Bennett’s legacy has reached a much bigger population. His mother, Lorraine Kerz, created Sy’s Fund, a non-profit organization that helps young adults with cancer. This KSC student’s love for journalism and life in general became the impulse for the fund to provide cancer patients with significant gifts that can make their days brighter.
It is a way “to pay forward his generous spirit,” Kerz said. Kerz’s strength has allowed her to accomplish magical things with Sy’s Fund. “My world ended when my son took his last breath, but knowing that we are helping to make a difference in the world supersedes any of the pain.”
Kerz said you are not given the choice of what you are handed, but you are given the choice of how to deal with it.
Kerz chose to honor her son, make his kindness remain through time and chase his goal of helping others.
In order to raise money for their cause, Sy’s Fund has organized the first “Strong as a River 5K Run/Walk” that will take place in Keene State College on Oct. 6. The registration fee is 25 dollars and can be done online or the day of the event at 9 a.m. Calendars including photos taken by cancer survivors will also be sold.
The event seeks to show support for cancer patients. Lorraine Kerz said, “It is a way of saying we are here for you.”
By supporting Sy’s Fund, people can really give cancer patients the opportunity of finding sense to life even after a devastating diagnosis, just as Silas did.
Dr. Marianne Salcetti, Sy’s friend and journalism professor at KSC, said the fund is running “to do some good for people their own age who need help right now.”
Sy’s Fund serves young adults 18 – 39. Kerz explained “we try to provide tangible things that would make their lives better… Support groups and search are really important, but sometimes you need a thing.”
The organization has reached several young adults who suffered from cancer nationally and provided them items such as laptops and work tools, any items that help them feel better and more useful for their families.
Kerz recalls how her son’s suffering was diminished by foot reflexology. “This he got as a gift; it really helped to calm him down.”
The fund also helps pay alternative treatments for cancer patients.
For Salcetti, Sy’s Fund provides young people “an identity other than the needles or the waiting rooms.” This kind of contribution is sometimes “a bigger bust to one’s total sense of self than even medical treatment.”
When Bennett was diagnosed with late-stage cancer, his major goal became to obtain his journalism degree. Salcetti remembers him as an exceptional student. “He had a passion for journalism, he saw it as a way to get the truth.”
Salcetti said, “He had no hesitation” for asking difficult questions. His mom remembers that among his friends, he was “the one with big shoulders, who everyone would lean on when they needed to”. Phil Stake, Bennett’s classmate, remembers Bennett as an enthusiastic and smiley guy. “He would take time to talk to you and help you out.”
Bennett had to change the notepad and voice recorder he used as a journalist for a wheelchair and set of needles; the electric newsroom of the Media Arts Center was replaced by the surgery room at Massachusetts General Hospital. His mom affirms this did not stop him from enjoying life. “He wouldn’t look at the fact that he was dying… He had a gift of not giving up.”
During the last months of his life, Bennett found solace in photography. His digital camera was a faithful friend. Salcetti recalls seeing Bennett in his wheelchair going down the streets of Boston taking pictures. For her, Bennett’s photography was both inspiring and heartbreaking.
“What you saw in Silas’ photography would be photos you gain standing up, but then, photos that you gain from being in a wheelchair,” she said.
He captured a different sense of perspective as his own life perspective changed.
Bennett took pictures until two days before he died. A week before he asked his mom to go buy new photography equipment.
“He said to the manager, ‘I’ve been doing a lot of amateur photography, and I’m thinking of taking it pro.’ He couldn’t even walk at that time. He spent like $200 in equipment and he just couldn’t have been happier.”
Bennett died on May 28, 2008. He did not accomplish his goal of graduating, but he left a mark. Salcetti affirmed many of Bennett’s friends are still hurting because of his loss. “He left a big hole”.
A memorial bench now lays outside the main journalism classroom in honor of Bennett.
His mother says it is a bit oversized, as this young man’s heart was, and made out of baseball-bat wood, to honor a huge Red Sox fan.
It was the first thing she organized in his memory in KSC. “I wanted something full of life like my son was.”
In between class hours, it is usual to see students sitting on Bennett’s bench.
As Salcetti said, probably they didn’t know Bennett, but “What they will know is that somebody pretty special passed through these halls at some point … and that his presence is still here.”
By participating in the run this Saturday, students will also be honoring Bennett’s fight against his faith and his infinite love for life.
“My son was passionate of little birds picking out of bagel crumb, as he was about the Red Sox games or politics. … He loved people and he loved life.”
Certainly, when it comes to passion, no better example can be found than Silas River Bennett.
Karina Barriga Alrbing can be contacted at kbarriga@keene-equinox.com