When the carillon bells of Century Tower tolled at noon Thursday, about 75 people gathered to pay tribute to five local college students who were murdered in August 1990.
Thursday marked the 20-year anniversary of the discovery of serial killer Danny Rolling's first victims.
UF held a brief memorial at the five trees standing outside the northwest corner of Smathers Library.
The trees were planted to honor the memory of Rolling's victims: UF students Sonja Larson, Christina Powell, Manuel Taboada and Tracy Paules, and Santa Fe College student Christa Hoyt.
The carillon bells of Century Tower tolled five times in honor of the students.
Those in attendance tied white ribbons around the trees during each pause.
Diana Hoyt, stepmother of victim Christa, was present for the ceremony, and said even though many of today's students are too young to remember the murders, she hopes that honoring her step-daughter's memory will remind students to look out for their safety as they complete their college studies.
"I think we have to look for the good part of it," she said.
During brief remarks, UF President Bernie Machen echoed Hoyt's sentiments.
"It seems to me that those of us in the present have a responsibility to the past," he said. "We must look out for one another, like a family."
Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell, who was a lieutenant at the time of the murders, said there was no better way to honor the victims because trees are a sign of renewal.
On Aug. 26, 1990, the serial murders sent shockwaves through the Gainesville community,.
Classes were canceled, and some students temporarily returned home.
Danny Rolling was named a suspect nine months later. He was subsequently convicted of the murders.
Rolling's execution took place in 2006.
Dr. Wayne Griffin, associate director of the UF Counseling and Wellness Center, also spoke at the service, noting how the resiliency of the trees mirrors the resiliency of the memory of the five students whose lives were cut short at the hands of a murderer.
"They have weathered sunny days, and they have weathered hurricanes," Griffin said. "And they stood strong."
Ribbons placed in remembrance of the victims of serial killer Danny Rolling blow in the breeze on Southwest 34th Street on Thursday. Rolling murdered five students in Gainesville in late August 1990.
