LISA SPINK Hana Hsial, Ada
Tseng and Patrick MacDonald light candles
at a UCLA vigil on Tuesday to remember those who died during the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
By Noah Grand
Daily Bruin Reporter
More than 200 students participated in a candlelight vigil
Tuesday night to support those affected by the Sept. 11
attacks.
The vigil, which began at De Neve Plaza and ended at Royce Hall,
had some mourners calling for peace and others advocating for the
assassination of terrorist leaders.
Members of the Undergraduate Students Association Council, which
sponsored the event, spoke of the need for campus unity.
“Tonight, we are gathered here as students to celebrate
humanity,” USAC general representative Theo Apostol said to
the crowd. “We are here to send our prayers to all of those
affected on the East Coast and throughout the world.”
On Sept. 11, terrorists hijacked four planes, crashing two into
the World Trade Center Twin Towers and a third into the Pentagon.
The fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
More than 190 people at the Pentagon and nearly 5,000 people at
the Trade Center were killed or reported missing. A total of 266
people died aboard the four planes.
Students attended the hour-and-a-half vigil to show support for
the victims and to help themselves cope.
“When I came here, I realized there was no active thing I
could do but I wanted to come out and show my support,” said
Harold Tan, a third-year cybernetics student.
As participants walked in silence from De Neve Plaza to Royce
Hall with lit candles, organizers asked them to come together as a
UCLA community.
“We walk together in solidarity and provide support for
each other tonight,” said USAC President Karren Lane.
Lane asked the crowd to think about what they will do to provide
a solution to the attacks.
“When we graduate, we will be able to say that we
graduated from one of the top schools in the world, but what will
we do?” she asked. “What resolution am I going to take
for the future of my children?”
For some students, resolution means taking a stance against
military action. Throughout the vigil, the Student Coalition
Against War distributed flyers urging students to get involved.
“It is important to establish something for students who
don’t agree with the policies of the government,” said
Behzad Raghiam, a fourth-year political science student who
distributed the flyers. “If anything, this course of action
will put more civilians at risk.”
Raghiam said the goals of the movement are to prevent war,
protect Muslims and Arabs from discrimination, ensure civil
liberties, and most importantly, to prevent further violence
against people.
Other mourners advocated that the best solution to the threat of
terrorism is to assassinate terrorist leaders such as Osama bin
Laden, who is suspected of orchestrating the Sept. 11 attacks.
“We called for the assassination of bin Laden in June, but
the press ignored us,” said Bob Zirgulis, a UCLA alumnus and
a member of International Human Rights Watch. “How many lives
could have been saved?”
Zirgulis said he is trying to gain student support in opposition
of a pro-Taliban rally at the Westwood Federal Building on
Saturday.
Though opposing the Taliban, Zirgulis said he and his group are
not opposed to Muslims or to Islam as a religion.
“Islam by itself is a very peaceful religion, but it has
been hijacked by the Taliban,” he said.
USAC has not made any official resolution regarding the attacks,
but Lane expects one to be made soon.
“I think the resolution that USAC hopes for is one of
peace, patience, respect and responsibility,” said Bryant
Tan, USAC academic affairs commissioner. “Let’s not
create any more pain, any more hurt.”
While most students were moved by the vigil, some were
disappointed with what they thought was a low turnout.
“A lot of students think that it’s done with and
it’s over,” said Michael Lee, a third-year cybernetics
student, “but it’s not over for the families of the
victims.”
Others were surprised by how many students showed up for an
event the first day of school.
“There would have been something at my old school, but
nothing on this grand of a scale,” said Harold Tan, a
transfer student in his first quarter at UCLA.
Lane said the entire council was involved in planning the vigil,
and that this unity within student government is required to
promote unity on campus. USAC is planning other activities to help
students cope with what is going on.
“It’s paramount that as student leaders we keep
people informed … This is something that cannot be forgotten. I
will not let it be forgotten,” said USAC Facilities
Commissioner Jeremy McKenzie.