Junior varsity cheerleader Jeremy Crouthamel was more than willing to spend his time this past summer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. There, he taught English to children in an orphanage. It was because of that and other acts of service that the English and Spanish double major became the first recipient of the Jason Ray Memorial Spirit Award. “He’s a tremendous young man,” said UNC cheerleading coach Brown Walters. “It’s amazing how much of his time he gives selflessly to others.”

One year ago, UNC lost a friend and student to a tragic accident. Three months ago, two men were arrested in connection with his death. Today a grieving mother still has questions that haven’t been answered as the suspects in Jason Ray’s death continue to defend their story. Before the March 23, 2007, accident and his death three days later, Ray was one of three students who portrayed UNC’s mascot, Rameses. He was accompanying the UNC men’s basketball team at the NCAA tournament in East Rutherford, N.J., at the time.

Almost a year after the death of former UNC mascot Jason Ray, two New Jersey men have been arrested in connection with the car accident that killed him. Gagik Hovsepyan, 52, and his son Armen Hovsepian, 25, both of Paramus, N.J., were arrested Thursday night on several charges by Bergen County, N.J., police. At the time of the incident – which police determined to be accidental – Gagik Hovsepyan told investigators that he had been driving the vehicle that struck Ray.

Two men were arrested and charged Thursday night for the March car accident that killed UNC mascot Jason Ray in East Rutherford, N.J. Armen Hovsepian, 25, and his father, Gagik Hovsepyan, 52, both of Paramus, N.J., each face multiple charges. Ray, 21, was walking on the shoulder of Route 4 when he was struck by a vehicle driven by Armen Hovsepian, according to a press release from the Bergen County, N.J. Prosecutor’s Office. Ray, who was in New Jersey to perform during the Tar Heels’ NCAA Sweet 16 game, died three days later.

For five New Jersey families, Rameses the ram represents more than just UNC athletics. Members of those families were on organ-donation waiting lists in March when UNC mascot Jason Ray was struck by a sport utility vehicle on the shoulder of a New Jersey highway and killed.

One month after Jason Ray’s death, the University community still is healing from the loss of a friend, leader and mascot. Although Ray, who was a senior, will not be able to cross the stage May 13 to receive his diploma, the University will award him a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School. “This is not a gift – he earned this degree,” Chancellor James Moeser said April 10 at an on-campus memorial service, which drew about 300 students and faculty to honor the man behind the mascot.

On the surface, the concert looked like any other. People chatted, cracked jokes and bobbed their heads to the music, some with beer bottles in their hands or red stamps on them. But there was a difference: Interspersed with the music were tributes to Jason Ray – the UNC senior who died last month. Ray was one of three students who played the Rameses mascot this season. It was a job he held for three years. But concertgoers came to Cat’s Cradle on Tuesday night to celebrate a different aspect of his life.

Jason Ray always wanted to play at the Cat’s Cradle. Although Ray, who died last month, was unable to fulfill that goal, his bandmates and friends have organized a concert at the venue to honor his memory. Four groups, including Ray’s band, Nine P.M. Traffic, will perform beginning at 8 p.m. today to raise money for the Jason Kendall Ray Memorial Fund. “We want to keep playing music,” said senior Chad Hines, the drummer for Nine P.M. Traffic. “He would want us to keep playing music.”

The University community continued to remember the life of Jason Ray, the UNC senior who died last month, at a campus memorial service Tuesday. Ray was known for his role as Rameses, but more than 300 students and faculty attended Tuesday’s memorial service to honor the man behind the mascot. As students entered the George Watts Hill Alumni Center, they saw a slide show with images of Ray, highlighting his spirit. Ray’s professor from the Kenan-Flager Business School, Alison Fragale, spoke about the impact Ray had on those he met.

Although only two other students shared Rameses’ identity with Jason Ray this year, more than 15,000 had something else in common with Ray – being a student at UNC. To honor Ray’s contributions to the University community, students, faculty and community members are invited to a memorial service for Ray at 4:30 p.m. today at the George Watts Hill Alumni Center on Stadium Drive.

The wide outpouring of support following Jason Ray’s death Monday reflects the immense impact he had in the Chapel Hill community and the nation as a whole. Four days after Ray’s death, friends and strangers alike have banded together to honor the UNC senior who wore the Rameses mascot suit for the past three years. Mascots participating in the remaining men’s and women’s Final Four games will wear armbands bearing Ray’s name, according to a release by the NCAA.

Transportation for students who plan to attend the funeral for Jason Ray, the UNC student who wore the Rameses mascot suit for the past three years, will be provided Saturday morning by the Dean of Students Office and the Department of Athletics. University officials have reserved one bus to take about 55 students to the service, which will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Concord First Assembly. The church is located at 150 Warren C. Coleman Blvd. in Concord. Officials will announce the departure time and location later.

UNC senior Jason Ray, a member of the cheerleading squad who has worn the Rameses mascot suit for the past three seasons, is still in critical condition after being struck by a car late Friday afternoon. Ray, 21, is being treated at Hackensack University Medical Center, where friends say he is on life support with serious injuries to his head. UNC senior James Jolley, who has known Ray since his freshman year, said that Ray still has some brain activity and that doctors are conducting more tests. He is breathing with the help of a respirator.

Jason Ray, a UNC senior who wore the Rameses suit for three years, died Monday morning after being hit by an SUV Friday afternoon while walking along a New Jersey highway. A spokeswoman for Hackensack University Medical Center said that Ray died at 8:38 a.m. Monday. He sustained severe head injuries after being hit by an SUV on N.J. Route 4. He was in the area for the men’s basketball game Friday against the University of Southern California. Hospital officials said that Ray was an organ donor.

You see him at the basketball games. You also see him around campus. You even can see him on Facebook.com. But who is the man behind the ram? Correction: Who are the men behind Rameses? During the 2006-07 sports season, three students share the job portraying UNC’s mascot. While the three are former strangers, they each have similar views on what it’s like to be the most visible character on campus. “At basketball games, I’m big and bad. But around kids, I’m Barney. I have to frolic and be animated,” said Tyler Treadaway, a sophomore history major from Mount Pleasant.