Candlelight Vigil Memorial

By: Genevieve Huang

At 5:00 PM on Friday, January 18, students gathered to hold a candlelight vigil memorial at the amphitheater in memoriam of the victims of recent rapes in New Delhi. After lighting about a dozen candles, the initiators of the event, Pragathi Guruprasad, 9, and Neha Nayak, 12, recounted the events in New Delhi to the other students. They held a moment of silence for the victims, after which the group discussed possible causes of and potential preventative measures for rape. The group also discussed whether the sentence for those convicted was justified.

Regarding the memorial, Nayak said, “I think this was a very poignant moment for me because I got to speak openly about this sensitive issue. In the future, I hope men can respect women, who in turn can respect themselves.” Guruprasad continues, “This has been really painful for us, and our prayers go out to every family that has been affected by these incidents.”