Community comes together for vigil

Erin Carlson
The Daily Illini

More than 1,000 students, faculty and community members gathered in the Krannert Center's Great Hall on Thursday night to attend a vigil remembering the victims of Tuesday's atrocities.

Chancellor Nancy Cantor's office organized the vigil, entitled "A Time for Remembrance and Unity," said Tammey Kikta, public information manager for the Krannert Center. To prepare for the event, Krannert Center staff wired Tryon Festival Theatre and Colwell Playhouse for video and audio in case of "audience overflow," she said.

People came together through spoken word and song as the event showcased a mix of speakers such as Cantor and performances by such groups as the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra and the Varsity Men's Glee Club.

"I think this is the kind of response the community needs to this kind of event," said Eamon Kelly, student trustee for the Urbana-Champaign campus. "It's emotional, it's grounded in different cultures, and it does it in a way that brings everyone together."

Cantor gave the opening and closing remarks, describing herself as feeling "humble and vulnerable" in the wake of such a massive affront to humanity.

"Why would we sing when we are stunned into silence?" Cantor asked. "My simple answer and it is all I have it to share our feelings of vulnerability and fear."

Coping in solitude is important, but mourners should find meaning through shared expression, she said.

"We are all different, but together in our vulnerability," she said.

Music filled the hall as the Varsity Men's Glee Club sang "Loch Lomond," a Scottish folk song and "My Spirit Sang All Day." Student ensemble group No Strings Attached sang "Shed a Little Light" by James Taylor and Professor Michael Ewald played his trumpet solo at the opening and closing of the event.

Students from Together Encouraging the Appreciation of Multiculturalism read "On the Pulse of the Morning," a poem by Maya Angelou and Kathleen F. Conlin, dean of the College of FAA, read "how i got ovah," a poem by Carolyn M. Rogers. Esther Kim, assistant professor in the theater department read an excerpt from "The Bridge of San Luis Rey," a story by Thornton Wilder.

James D. Anderson, professor and head of educational policy studies, delivered some of his personal reflections and received applause from the audience.

"I have seen this nation come to a standstill on more occasions than I'd like to remember," Anderson said. "I'm so grateful people around me taught me to fight intolerance with tolerance, hatred with compassion, and bigotry with love.

"One of the purposes of terror is to instill fear in us. One lesson I learned is that we should always live life to its fullest. We should always have courage.

"We can have victory against perpetrators."

Anderson said American citizens should embrace the opportunity to promote unity and appreciate the diversity and democracy of America.

At the vigil's close, Cantor said she hoped the event made attendants "feel a little less broken inside" and asked attendants to take a moment of silence as professor Michael Ewald played the trumpet, performing "Fanfare for the Common Man."

Outside the hall, Krannert staff manned a booth collecting donations for the American Red Cross, while the students from the campus Ribbon Campaign distributed pale yellow ribbons to attendants. The Big Ten schools chose the pale yellow ribbon a a symbol for hope and unity, said Adie Slaton, senior in LAS.

Attendants said the vigil was very emotional and moving and many congregated inside the lobby after the event where Cantor greeted guests.

"I feel really, really glad that I came," said Stephanie Swift, a University graduate. "Mr. Anderson was honest."

Kaushik Roy, a senior in engineering, felt that the vigil was a good way for people to reflect on the tragedy together.

"I'm from D.C. and my mom works for the government a couple blocks from the Pentagon," Roy said. "It's easier to deal with this in a group than deal with it alone."

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