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WSU's Student Government Association Plans To Honor Fallen Student

Wichita State
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Wichita State University's Student Government Association is planning to honor a fellow student who was killed in a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.

Abduljaleel Alarbash was killed in May while volunteering as a security guard outside of a mosque during a visit home. He reportedly chased a suicide bomber away from the building and was killed when the bomb was detonated.

Three others were killed in the blast, a number that could have been much higher if the bomber had entered the mosque. A junior at WSU, Alarbash had returned to Saudi Arabia for the summer to get married.

“He’s a hero, not only in his own country, but we look at him as a hero in the United States of America, on our campus," says Student Body President Joseph Shepard. "We cherished him and his time here at Wichita State University was not overlooked.”

Shepard says possible memorials for Alarbash include a day celebrated in his honor, a blood drive, or a hall named for him.

A resolution honoring Alarbash was read during the university’s Senate meeting last night. A similar proclamation by the Kansas legislature took place in June.