The Universitat de València observed four days of official mourning, one more than the city of Valencia, in memory of the victims of the fire that erupted in two residential buildings in the Campanar neighbourhood of Valencia. Among the victims was a student of the UV's "La Nau Gran" programme. In her memory, and in memory of all the victims, the university community observed a moment of silence yesterday at noon and again at the start of class for the students of the History of Art pathway of "La Nau Gran".
The fire spread across two residential buildings located in the Campanar neighbourhood of Valencia on Thursday 22 February. The tragedy has had a profound impact on the community and on the Universitat de València.
Institutional mourning
At first news of the incident, the principal of the UV, Mª Vicenta Mestre, contacted the government delegate in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé, the president of the Valencian Government, Carlos Mazón, and the mayor of Valencia, Mª José Catalá, to convey the solidarity of the university community and to offer the UV’s resources, particularly, its network of university clinics.
The UV participated in the three-day institutional mourning decreed by both the City Council and the Government, suspending institutional events, cultural and leisure activities, as well as the participation of the members of the Executive Council of the UV in public events.
At the same time, the Executive Council was closely monitoring the search for Carmen, a student on the History of Art pathway of the UV’s "La Nau Gran" programme for seniors, while the Principal was in contact with her closest relatives.
When Carmen was identified as one of the victims, the Executive Council of the UV extended the institutional mourning for another day to include Monday 26th February, flying the flags of the official buildings of the UV at half-mast.
Moment of silence
On Monday, 26 February at 12:00, the UV asked for a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the fire, as well as in tribute to the Fire Services, Military Emergency Unit, police forces, health services and other emergency teams deployed to confront this tragedy.
The gatherings took place at the doors of the Principal Building, La Nau (UV's historic building), the Botanical Garden and the university campuses, with a large number attendance.
At the doors of the Principal Building on the Blasco Ibáñez Campus, the principal of the Universitat Jaume I and president of the Conference of Principals of Spanish Universities (CRUE), Eva Alcón, and the principal of the Miguel Hernández University of Elche, Juan José Ruiz, gathered together with the academic authorities.
Numerous classmates of Carmen from "La Nau Gran" attended this gathering and observed another moment of silence at 16:00 in the classroom of the second year of the History of Art pathway of La Nau Gran, where she was studying.
Institutional gratitude and condolences
Over the last few days, the Universitat de València has received gratitude from the Valencian authorities for the institutional offer, as well as condolences from the president of CRUE and other universities, such as the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.
