Students, staff and community members continue to remember the life and work of professor Hector Torres and student Stefania Gray.
The two were found dead at Torres’ home March 8. Ralph Montoya, 38, confessed to the murders to his lawyer and has been indicted by a grand jury on 17 counts stemming from stalking and the murder of Torres and Gray.
A memorial is set to take place April 9 at noon at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Former students of Torres organized the event.
“He was exceptionally brilliant, compassionate and would go above and beyond for students and was beyond inspirational,” said Robby Ortiz, an organizer for the event. “It’s really just a way to honor him as an educator. Anyone who had him as a professor or graduate assistant, any of his colleagues or anyone who knew the work he did on a national scale will be there. It’ll be a real eclectic gathering of people who have memories about Hector.”
Ortiz was writing his thesis with Torres and was the professor’s student for two semesters.
Oscar Ortega, a student in Torres’ Chicano studies class, said the news of his death left him compelled to organize students and begin setting up a memorial.
“It came as instinct. It felt like the right thing to do at that moment,” he said. “The way he went out was not an honorable death. I thought, ‘Let’s give him something better to celebrate.’ This is our way to atone for the wrong that happened to him.”
The Sigma Alpha Omega sorority organized a bake sale to raise money for the memorial. The group plans to use the funds to purchase a memorial brick that will be placed at the NHCC plaza. Any additional funds will go to the Hector Torres Scholarship Fund, which was set up by members of the English department after his death.
“I went to the funeral and the wake, and it was pretty obvious the impact he had on the community,” said
Samantha Doyle, president of Sigma Alpha Omega. “He really pushed people to go above their limit. He seemed like an incredible guy. There has been a lot of people who gave money without taking baked goods.”
The group raised $75 during its bake sale on Tuesday. Its goal is to raise twice that amount. The
sorority will be in Smith Plaza today accepting donations and selling fresh baked goods.
For anyone who wants to contribute, a fund is available at the Chicano Studies department.
For the memorial, the group organized speakers including prominent Chicanos like Rudolfo Anaya and Robert Rodriguez, providing the students a different perspective on life and the value of loss.
”Value every second you have, especially with somebody that brilliant,” Ortiz said. “I saw him the Wednesday before it happened, and I was in his office soaking up everything he was telling me. I always left his office with awesome ideas.”
*Bake sale for Hector Torres and Stefania Gray
Today
Smith Plaza
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.*
