Rival schools show support on social media after Utah tragedy

Aggie blue went crimson. BYU blue did, too. And over at Weber State, purple ran red.

In the wake of the shooting death of a University of Utah student-athlete, other schools in the state have set aside petty rivalries and school colors to offer a social media show of support for the victim's family and friends.

“At the end of the day, we are all humans and we are all Utahns,” said Ryan Jenson, who is one of the people in charge of USU's Twitter account. “It’s important to be there for one another no matter what school you attend.”

On Oct. 22, Lauren McCluskey was shot to death on Utah’s campus by a convicted sex offender, who later killed himself. McCluskey had told the police that she was being harassed by the man, who was a former boyfriend, but officers had not yet followed up on the report when she was killed.

The Utah State University Student Association tweeted on Tuesday to ask all USU students to wear red the following day in a sign of solidarity.

“USU feels that the other universities would do the same for us if something like that occurred here,” Jenson said.

Jaren Hunsaker, USU’s student body president, tweeted a photo of more than 50 students wearing red while holding up the U’s hand signal. On Wednesday, both Weber and BYU also posted photos of students wearing red.

“We work so hard to be different,” Jenson said. “When tragedy strikes we start to see each other differently. We focus on things that make us similar.”

When it comes to student safety, Weber State University social media editor Matthew Gerrish said, “there’s no competition. All Utah universities work together.”