Photos: Last night’s vigil was a testament to Illinois spirit
It was beautiful
Thursday night the University of Illinois held a candlelight vigil to honor the victim of Saturday night’s tragic shooting, as well as those injured in the event.
The vigil was led by Illinois’s Student Senate and featured speeches from prominent campus and community leaders as well as one of those injured in the shooting.
I found myself compelled to attend despite not knowing the victim, or even being on campus the night of the incident, and it appeared that many others were driven by this same thought.
The walkway spanning the south end of the Union was filled as fellow students, faculty, police, and community members turned out to show their support, pay their respects, and come together as fellow Illini.
The outpouring of support from the student body was truly astounding, and in my opinion reflected the “large campus, small community” mentality that I think slowly but surely becomes adopted by us here in Champaign-Urbana.
It is a somber reminder on all accounts, but a profound one nonetheless.
To witness a turnout of such numbers to offer any condolence possible certainly swelled my Illini pride, and comforted me to know that the support necessary during times of mourning is not lost among the sea of a student body, or across the wide berth of our campus.
That familial bond between students, the institution, and the community is a strong if not prominent one, and our ability to come together following such a tragic event reflects this.
All photos in this article were taken by Tab Fellow Adam Kurczewski.