Hundreds gather for campus vigil

With the stars shining overhead and somber music in the background, students and faculty members flooded College Green last night in the wake of yesterday's terrorist attacks.

They met to share feelings and lean on each other for support as the heart of campus was transformed into a vigil for those affected by the destruction in New York and Washington.

Though Locust Walk was a virtual ghost town yesterday evening as students retreated inside to review the day's events with friends, by 8 p.m. about 500 students had left their television sets behind and emerged for the two-hour vigil.

Appropriately, the crowd gathered in the shadow of a Penn staple, the larger-than-life peace statue on College Green.

Students and faculty traded hugs, tears and other gestures of support as Chaplain William Gipson called on the community to "lift each other up when it is so easy to blame, accuse and divide."

Last night's program included instrumental and vocal performances, prepared remarks and readings by students of various religious backgrounds, a statement by University President Judith Rodin and spontaneous remarks from students.

Prayers for peace spanned languages and religions, beginning with a reading from the Quran in both English and Arabic and continuing through with readings from the Hebrew and Christian Bibles.

Following the reading of a Pablo Neruda poem, Gipson, along with Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain Cade-McCoullum, invited students to share their own experiences with the crowd.

"We really are one family and we encourage you to speak your voice at this place and this time," Gibson said.

To combat the group's hesitance at addressing each other publicly, Gibson called on those in attendance to address their neighbors about why they had come to the vigil.

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, the first individual testimonials came through as students ascended to the podium.

"I'm glad that I'm here," one student said while fighting back tears. "I know there are a lot of people here that can help."

"Life is still worth living and life is still beautiful," another student declared.

Following each student's remarks, those in attendance chanted "you are not alone" as the speaker received a hug from Cade-McCoullum.

Student testimonials were broken up by Rodin's brief remarks.

"Make this make a difference, each of you can," she said. "We will heal. We will heal as people, we will heal as a country."

Students attended the vigil for many reasons. While some were affected personally by yesterday's attacks, others were not.

"I just felt like I had to come," College sophomore Stacey Campbell said. "I just felt empty the whole day."

Personal issues became secondary to the broader issues faced by the Penn community as a whole.

"Basically I came tonight because even though I have a lot of homework, there are things in life that are more important than school," College freshman Christine Fisher added. "What humanity is going through is more important than whether I have something intelligent to say in class tomorrow."

For others, the sense of community felt throughout Penn during the day was something to reflect upon last night as well.

"It was so good to see people of different faiths coming out and... showing the sense of community we have at Penn," College sophomore Dan Casey said.

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