I didn’t know you, but because you were an NIU student, a black man and from a suburb of Chicago — just as I am — I mourn.

Patrick L. Stokes only lived to be 23 years old, but he already achieved something no one else in his family did. He was the first college student of his family. He was so close to graduating and pursuing his career goals of helping children in social services. He was ready to make an immediate commitment to his community and possibly others, at the most important level of our identity — the childhood level — when he completed his degree. It was a sad Sunday night, watching CLTV, to find out someone like Pat Stokes was taken away from this world much too soon.

Many students were impacted by the sudden, violent death of Stokes. They said Pat was a good guy who never ran around with the wrong crowd. Many friends and associates say the shooting that ended his life was not in any way related to his personality. He was a victim of circumstance.

For most, Patrick was far from a violent person who ran the streets. In fact, as stated in the Daily Southtown, his mother said, “He was a fun-loving person, a joker who everyone loved.” A lot of people have told me the same thing. It’s sad his life had to end so tragically. Stokes probably wanted to lend a helping hand to people who were caught up in gang or street life and needed to seek a better one. Some parts of Markham, like in other suburbs of Chicago and other cities, are rough neighborhoods to live in. It’s so disheartening to know that the same streets he would have tried to improve were the same streets on which he tragically took his last breaths.

Monday was already a difficult day knowing an NIU student had been killed during a visit back to his hometown of Markham, but when I found out a few students and friends of mine knew him, my heart sank. Most were angry with the Star because of how the article was written, the length of the story and the information provided about how his death took place. Close friends did not want the association of gang violence being linked to his death, for fear there would be a negative influence on how Pat was perceived by others reading the story. When I heard people, as they were holding back tears, talk about how he was gunned down, it was almost like I knew him, and my heart is heavy to this day.

Writing this column has been the most difficult one to write. No matter how hard I try, I can’t describe someone’s life by a simple word count or headline. There aren’t enough pages in a book, books in a library or libraries in the world to describe his life and how people have been affected by it, or his death. I can only give my proper respects.

My condolences go out to your mother, grandmother, brother, girlfriend, friends and all other loved ones. May you rest in peace, Pat.

Joey Baskerville is an opinion columnist for the Northern Star.