On March 22, 2021, Boston College students gathered on Maloney Lawn after dark to remember the victims of the anti-Asian shooting in Atlanta and create space for community members to share and process together. Hosted by the BC Asian Caucus and the Bowman AHANA Intercultural Center, the vigil took place in two time slots (7-8 p.m., 8-9 p.m.) to accommodate for social distancing and state guidelines and still have as many students as possible.
Between the two times slots, several hundred students were in attendance. Candles were distributed to all upon arrival, but when nighttime breeze proved to be a difficulty, students got creative with their cell phone flashlights.
Each vigil began with a moment of silence for the lives lost in Atlanta, followed by a reflection by Professor Min Song of the English Department.
The majority of the vigil was intended to be an open forum for students to share, voice their feelings, and tell their stories. Students who wished to speak lined up, and with or without introducing themselves, they spoke on their reactions to the tremendous increase in anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic and also their experiences being in the minority at Boston College.
In an effort to amplify these voices of Asian students on our campus, these quotes, each from a different student, speak for themselves:
“My response [to the Atlanta shooting] was fear because these attacks are getting closer and closer to home. When I was reading the names of the victims, I couldn’t help but think ‘what if they were my parent’s names? What if it was my mom’s name?’”
“I felt like this whole time I’ve had to grapple with the question, ‘am I proud to be an American?’ I’ve always wanted my grandparents to come live here in America with us. But now, I can’t say that I want that. I don’t want to worry about them going to the grocery store or about my little cousins going out to play.”
“I’m really just grateful for everyone standing here. Just so grateful.”
“In high school, kids would say, ‘Do you have dog for dinner?’ ‘Will you do my math homework?’ The thing is, that’s not okay. I [continued to] experience so many microaggressions after coming to BC, and even freshman year, I still thought it was okay. I know more now.”
“What’s the difference between my parents and the victims? Honestly, there isn’t.”
“What if that was my mom? I called my parents after, telling them to be careful.”
“I feel so many things: helpless, frustrated, afraid, proud, and yet, shameful? Why do I feel shameful?”
A student concluded:
“I want you all to remember what you feel right now and carry that into every day. This is not a point of closure but a call to action.”
Staff photos by Olivia Colombo
Previously the Campus News Editor and Catholicism 101 Editor, Olivia dabbles in The Torch’s writing and photography. She is a senior studying theology and applied psychology and human development with a minor in journalism. She is unashamedly passionate about youth ministry, Haiti, all things charismatic, the Oxford comma, and CatholicTV––where she can often be found as an on-camera news reporter or host of the To the Heights podcast.
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