Viginia Hazing Update: Marvell Edmonson and Jauwan Holmes, Virginia State students, mourned after club initiation deaths

(CBS/AP) ETTRICK, Va. - Hundreds gathered on the campus of Virginia State University to remember two young men who drowned in the Appomattox River during an initiation rite.

VSU President Keith Miller called the two 19-year-old freshmen men of promise and potential at a memorial held Friday in the gymnasium on the Ettrick campus.

He blamed the loss of Marvell Edmonson and Jauwan Holmes on "outdated rituals" and said he was hopeful others would learn from their deaths.

The two students were swept away by rapids on April 20 as they attempted to cross the Appomattox during an initiation for an unsanctioned social club called "Men of Honor." Other students survived the ordeal.

Four men have been charged with hazing in the deaths.

More on CrimesiderApril 26, 2013 - Virginia Hazing: Three arrested, one sought, after two Virginia State Univ. freshmen killed in initiation rite