Yeardley Love Honored At UVA's Graduation

Members of the University of Virginia's Class of 2010 celebrated their graduation this weekend, but not without paying homage to the peers who should have been there.

The Washington Post reports:

... As soon as everyone was seated, the crowd quieted for a moment of silence to remember four members of the Class of 2010 who did not live to see graduation. They included Yeardley Love, 22, a lacrosse player who was slain three weeks ago, just before final exams.

There was no mention of her ex-boyfriend, fellow senior and lacrosse player George Huguely V, who has been charged with her murder. Huguely probably would have graduated as well Sunday but withdrew from the university after Love's death. Members of the men's lacrosse team, some of whom served as pallbearers at Love's funeral, were unable to attend because they were playing, and winning, an NCAA tournament quarterfinal game.

Love was awarded a bachelor's degree from the school's Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics. A scholarship in her name has amassed $350,000. According to CBS News, her mother and sister did not attend the ceremony, not wanting to be a distraction.

University President John Casteen III gave his last major speech before retiring at the ceremony. He listed things he would never forget about the school: "The sounds of children on the Lawn during Halloween. The chapel's bells. The cheers at games, no matter what the sport. And the name of Yeardley Love."