Erika Bocknek, assistant professor of Educational Psychology in the College of Education, takes part in "Menorah in the D honors ancient tradition, Pittsburgh victims"
Detroit News, 12/2
Menorah in the D honors ancient tradition, Pittsburgh victims
By Mark Hicks
Each Hanukkah, Erika Bocknek marvels at the multiple menorahs illuminating her family's home as night falls. On Sunday, to mark the Jewish holiday beginning at sunset, she received a torch representing a flame that lit a massive steel and glass version of the traditional candelabra during the Menorah in the D event in Detroit's Campus Martius Park. In addition to honoring an ancient tradition, Bocknek took part with more than 100 others in a moment of silence and a song of faith to honor the victims of a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that left 11 dead. "Hanukkah is a holiday that is about miracles and light," said Bocknek, a psychology professor at Wayne State University. "It's always a really special time for our family and community, but particularly after a tragedy, it feels so special to be a part of something so positive."