An unspecified group that calls themselves the 17 Society painted over a memorial on Beta Bridge that was dedicated to the three students killed in the Nov. 13, 2022 shooting late Wednesday night. In a letter taped to the side of the bridge, the group claimed responsibility for painting over the memorial, saying that they did so in order to open the bridge for future messages from the University community. Some members of the University community, including multiple Virginia football players, painted a new memorial late Thursday afternoon.
The now-covered memorial was dedicated to Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry, three Virginia football players who were killed in a shooting at Culbreth Garage Nov. 13, 2022 that also left Mike Hollins, Virginia football player and fourth-year College student, as well as third-year Commerce student Marlee Morgan injured. Members of the University community painted the memorial the following day. The painted message remained in place longer than any other message in the bridge’s history, lasting for a total of 528 days.
Details about the 17 Society’s membership and activities are unclear. In the message, the 17 Society said that painting over the memorial was necessary, as the messaging on Beta Bridge must change as the University does.
“The University will face future triumphs and tragedies, great and small,” the letter read. “We wanted to alleviate the burden of any individual or group judging those events against the tragedy previously memorialized.”
In response to the decision to paint over the original memorial, multiple members of the University community — including several members of the Virginia football team — took to Beta Bridge late Thursday afternoon to paint another memorial to Davis Jr., Chandler and Perry. A post to the team’s Instagram account encourages students to resign the bridge, just as they did in the days following the shooting.
The 17 Society’s decision to paint over the memorial was criticized on social media when an anonymously-run Instagram account, with the username @betabridge, posted photos of the bridge and the letter from the 17s. Multiple users noted that the main mural only covered one wall of the bridge, and that University community members could still paint new messages on the opposite wall.
“Very sad, very distasteful,” one commenter wrote. “[To] make a decision on behalf of the majority without consulting the majority, especially those directly impacted, is insane.”
Fourth-year College student Megan Deane, who was on the bus where the Nov. 13 shooting occurred, said they believe the 17 Society’s decision to paint over the memorial was a major disservice to the memories of the victims of the shooting. They also said that the 17 Society did not have the authority to paint over the memorial without any input from the University community.
“I think that they’re cowards to do it without attaching their actual names to it,” Deane said. “I think that it was a disrespectful choice. As a community memorial, it should have been left to the community at large to decide what to do with it.”
While Beta Bridge is not owned by the University, members of the University community have painted messages on its walls for over 50 years, layering new messages atop older ones. The Nov. 13 memorial is not the first Beta Bridge message to commemorate a tragedy — a message reading “Hoos for Hokies” was painted on the bridge after the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech and remained there for 53 days.
The message from the 17 Society also said that a memorial tree, located in the center of Arts Grounds, was better suited to honor the memory of the victims of the Nov. 13 shooting. The University planted the tree in the honor of Davis Jr., Chandler and Perry at a ceremony Sept. 8, which was attended by the victims’ families and teammates, as well as other members of the University community.
“The memorial had begun to degrade, while the tree planted nearby has begun to sink its roots and thrive,” the letter read. “We believe the latter is better suited to honor the memory of those we lost.”
However, plans to preserve the memorial were already underway before last night’s repainting, as Student Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting a project that aimed to laser-cut and preserve the painted memorial at a February meeting. Jason Almas, Student Council representative and third-year College student, first proposed the resolution and said he has since been working on the project alongside the Fralin Museum of Art.
Almas said that the preservation project was still in its early stages, and that he and others working on the project are now considering next steps for preserving the memorial. Although the main section of the memorial was completely painted over, Almas said his project team is considering laser-cutting the smaller portions of the memorial located on the opposite wall that are still visible.
“It is unfortunate we were not able to remove the larger side before it was repainted, but we are hopeful that we can preserve some of it,” Almas said.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Megan Deane is a third-year student. Megan Deane is a fourth-year student and the article has been updated to reflect this change.
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