Friends and family mourn at a vigil for Jack Godfrey on Nov. 7, 2014, in front of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity house.
It wasn’t a normal Tuesday night at Terrapin’s Turf, said the bar’s co-owner Yasmine Afshar.
Throughout the night, some patrons willingly handed over $20 bills instead of the standard $5 cover charge. Others gave Afshar money from the street without even going into the bar.
And inside, it was unusually busy for a weeknight as people ordered half-off shots of Jameson — Jack Godfrey’s favorite drink.
Godfrey, who was a senior journalism major, was found dead in his Hopkins Avenue home Nov. 6. The cause of death and autopsy results will not be known for six to eight weeks, his father John Godfrey told The Diamondback on Saturday. Police said they do not suspect foul play.
Tuesdays at Turf are known as “Greek Night,” Afshar said, which was fitting, as Godfrey was a member of the fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon, and the fundraiser aimed to honor Godfrey’s life, she said.
“Jack was a patron. We knew Jack. Our staff was friends with him,” Afshar said. “To lose someone in our community — how could you not want to help?”
All cover charge proceeds went to the Prince George’s County Hospital Trauma Ward and the Red Carnation Ball, a philanthropy event hosted by the fraternity. Godfrey underwent surgery at the hospital after suffering a traumatic brain injury in March last year.
Senior Max Kershner, a promoter at Turf who helped organize the event, said it raised about $2,500.
“We can’t sit back and act like this didn’t happen and didn’t affect our community. Greeks support us and we want to support the Greeks,” Afshar said. “He may not be with us, but the love that people have for him on campus is very much alive. Last night, every comment, every donation was about Jack.”
Kershner, a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, said Godfrey was one of his best friends. He said it seemed like nearly the entire Greek community came to Turf on Tuesday night — though Tau Kappa Epsilon members were holding a brotherhood event at the fraternity house during that time.
“I’ve never seen the bar that packed,” Kershner, an economics major, said. “Hopefully that had to do with Jack. It was amazing that, in a week when everyone should be locked up in the library studying for midterms, they made a point to come to the bar to support TKE.”
Tau Kappa Epsilon president Matthew Gaudioso wrote in an email that the fraternity plans to host a philanthropy event in Jack’s name later in the school year. Right now, the fraternity is accepting donations for the county trauma ward via the fraternity’s Red Carnation Ball Facebook page.
Kershner said that Tuesday night started out with a somber tone, but that changed as the night went on.
“Having known Jack since freshman year, that’s what he would’ve wanted,” Kershner said. “He was the most fun-loving kid I’ve ever known. He was always smiling. He loved Turf. He’d come in, and he was the most friendly guy there.”
