COLLEGE PARK, Md. (WUSA9) — Nearly a year after Lt. Richard Collins was killed on the campus of the University of Maryland, some students say it's time for a permanent memorial to honor him.
Collins was a Bowie State University student, set to graduate just a few days before his death. He was visiting friends in College Park when Sean Urbanski, a UMD student at the time, stabbed him at a bus stop on campus.
Urbanski, 22, has been charged with murder and a hate crime. Since the incident, the university moved the bus stop temporarily, and put up a barrier to honor Collins. Still, some feel that more needs to be done.
"Maybe establishing some sort of barrier similar to the one that exists, but with more ground so people aren't sitting on the bench. That's something I've seen is people not respecting what happened here," said UMD Sophomore, Senam Okphattah.
Okpattah started a petition urging the university to put up a permanent memorial. She sought out to collect 100 signatures, but in just a few days she has gathered more than 1,200.
"It makes me very uncomfortable seeing that not much is really present here to symbolize what happened and remind people what happened, because it was a tragedy," said Okpattah.
The University of Maryland released the following statement:
The university community continues to grieve the tragic loss of Second Lt. Richard Collins III. His death shook our campus and the region. Plans for a permanent memorial to commemorate Lt. Collins would be closely coordinated with his family and alma mater, Bowie State University.
Urbanski is set to stand trial for Collins' murder this July.
