Over 40 students and faculty gathered in Seymour St. John Chapel for support and prayer at the Vigil Against Hate last Friday, November 2. The Vigil Against Hate was a collaboration between student and faculty leaders from Spiritual Life and Equity and Inclusion in response to recent national events: the mailing of explosives to prominent critics of President Trump, the Kentucky Kroger shooting that left two African American grandparents dead, the disappearance of Lion Air Flight 610 with 189 people on board, and the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh, PA.
Reverend Ally Brundige, Protestant Chaplain and Director of Spiritual Life, said, “The vigil provides an opportunity for all of us to mourn the lives that were taken and to come together among us with our commitment to combat injustice.”
“Pittsburgh made me realize that men and women who survived the Holocaust, men and women who fled to this country for safety, who thought of this place as welcoming, were shot in an act of terrorism.” Said Stella Dubin ’21. “I needed a community around me to help me come to terms with this and to remind Jewish students, and students from Pittsburgh, and students who just feel connected to this shooting, to feel safe.”
Dr. Keith Hinderlie, Director of Equity and Inclusion, said, “We wanted students to feel like they had some agency around how they dealt with it, that they could see that others were similarly affected, and to have some sort of process for dealing with the sadness, anger, grief, or whatever other feelings people may have in response to the incidents.”
Attendees of the vigil were deeply moved by students’ words and the unity of the community. “Students stood up and reflected on the impact of many recent events and how they personally have been affected. We talk in the abstract but going to the vigil really confronted me with the fact that people are in pain and suffering from the hate in our world,” reflected Kathryn Phillips ’20.
