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Schoolmates Grieve Loss of Two Friends

* Deshaun Hill, Harvard Stephens Honored in Service

Bernard, who also wrote and performed songs for the album, said one song titled "You Went Away Too Soon" focuses specifically on the loss of Harvard and Deshaun.

Another track titled "Mama's Crying" discusses the impact which the deaths of young African-American men have on their families, Bernard said.

Bernard and Clayton said the album will hopefully be out in record stores next month, and all proceeds will go toward the scholarship funds.

The album, which is being produced by Leslie, was a collaborative effort by many Harvard undergraduates who were close friends of the duo, they said.

"Music expresses the soul, and we thought this was the best way to articulate what we felt," he said. "Harv and Deshaun were music fans."

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"Growing up I had no brother, but we became family, we were so tight," Bernard added. "This is a token of our affection for these two guys."

Bernard also said that the BMF may dedicate a talent show this spring to Harvard and Deshaun.

Dionne A. Fraser '99, vice-president of BSA, said efforts are under way to erect a plaque in memory of the two at Hollis Hall--where Stephens lived during his first year--or at Adams House.

Reminiscences

Friends of the duo say that they have been devastated by the passage of Hill and Stephens because it signified the deaths of two Harvard undergraduates and also the loss of two bright hopes for the African-American community.

Kellogg said Hill and Stephens "were some of the few African-American males doing well and doing a lot for themselves and [who] had bright futures."

Montgomery added: "It's just a bummer because you have a handful of black kids in this school as a whole, and to have two of them gone.... It's such a loss because they had such bright futures."

Other friends added that the tremendous outpouring of support for Hill and Stephens was indicative of how many people's lives they had touched.

Candace L. Hoyes '99, who co-organized the memorial, said Harvard exuded "great generosity of spirit."

"He wanted to bring computers to underpriviledged and underfinanced areas, particularly black communities," she said.

About Deshaun, Hoyes said, "He was extremely focused and a straight-A student, but he never talked about how much work he had to do. When you were with him, he was with you because he focused on nothing else. He was my academic inspiration as well as my brother."

Clayton said that although Hill and Stephens are no longer partying or just hanging out, some things will never change.

"Harvard Stephens and Deshaun Hill were my boys, my brothers," Clayton said in his eulogy. "We came to college as kids, and although we're now men, we'll always be boys."

--Sadie H. Sanchez contributed to the reporting of this article.CrimsonGrigory TovbisGRIEF AND REMEMBRANCE: NIA C. STEPHENS '01 listens to friends of her brother, Harvard C. Nabrit Stephens '99, at the service.

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