Over 300 students gathered on the Student Center terrace to hold a vigil for the victims of the Nepal earthquake at 9 p.m. last Wednesday night.
The 7.8 earthquake that devastated Nepal caused over 6,000 fatalities, with thousands still unaccounted for, causing massive amount of damages, as well as over 70 aftershocks.
About a hundred candles and glowed bright, illuminating the usually dark terrace. A few students waved their cellphone lights during a moment of silence commemorating the victims of the quake.
The vigil was organized in conjunction with Break the Silence campaign, a collaborative campaign of both community and student organizations that aimed to raise student awareness of refugees and displaced populations.
“Tonight we are united with the people of Nepal,” said a student speaker, as she led the students into the moment of silence.
Promptly after the moment of silence, students were invited to take the stage and share thoughts and feelings about the catastrophe. Several students clustered on the stage.
Lynn Mackenzie, a legal services fellow at the Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Service in Glendale, took the microphone to share her thoughts.
“Coming together as a community to commemorate those suffering abroad, that can be very powerful and bring about a change,” Mackenzie said.
One village reported over 90 percent destruction of its residential areas. Currently, survivors are still being rescued from the rubble.
