Students share tales at vigil

Standing atop the 38th Street footbridge with dimly lit candles flickering in their hands, about 40 students huddled together last night to pay tribute to the past. They told touching and personal stories to honor their history, as part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. The speeches created an atmosphere of quiet and poignant reflection. College sophomore Huan Vu told those gathered about his mother's fight for survival in America. "She cries with me, provides me with a heaven, and loves me when no one else does," he said. "One day when we are triumphant, we must say thanks to them on the way home. Say thank you to our teachers to have given us out-of-this-world experiences." Other students brought tears to listeners' eyes as they spoke of anti-Asian violence resulting in tragedy. College senior Nina Park retold her chilling story of the death of her friend, Luyen Nguyen, a former student at the University of Miami who was beaten to death by 15 males who called him "a gook." "He died because he was Asian," she cried. "Only through unification can we live together in harmony and love. I encourage us all to look at others and look deep inside to see who they are, not what they look like." The names of Asians who have died as a result of racial intolerance were written in memory on paperbags illuminated by candles. Greenfield Intercultural Center staff member MeiLee Dozier, the vigil's coordinator, also remembered Asians who have been killed because of their race. She wants the vigil to be a continuous event. "I want this to be more than a vigil," she said. "I wanted a standing memorial for other people to see, and to set a precedent for other Asian Americans to follow and remember." After meeting at the bridge the group marched down to the peace sign on College Green. During the brief journey, some vigil participants spoke of sacrifice and respect. "I feel that it's important for Asian Americans to remember and respect the past," said College freshman Titi Yu. "Lots of times, those who are born in this country take for granted what our parents went through and sacrificed to get us where we are today. Tonight, I would like to honor my parents and what they did for me." Channel 10 news anchor Siani Lee, the vigil's master of ceremonies, said she took this opportunity not only to support the Asian American culture and community, but to pay respect to her parents for helping her get to where she is today. "I owe a lot to my family for the sacrifices they made to make a better life for me, both educationally and professionally," said Lee, a member of the Asian American Journalist Association. "We are gathered here today because the time is long overdue for us to pay our respects to the past that is all our histories and the living tradition that continues today as a result," she said. Senior Staff Psychologist for University Counseling Alvin Alvarez, the GIC advisor for Asian Pacific American Heritage Week said the vigil's purpose was retell the story of Asian Americans in this country. "We want this event to create a sense of honoring those individuals, cultures and institutions that brought us here today and supported us," Alvarez said. "The goal was to slow down, stop and reflect on our past, to remember that we didn't get here all by ourselves. It is best described as a reflective celebration." Individuals slowly dispersed after a minute of silence to pay respect to Asians and their history. The silence highlighted the remembrance of the past as the candles were left dimly lit until midnight. "I thought it was a beautiful way for Asian Americans as a group to step back in a quiet way and remember how we got here and where we came from," Alvarez said. "It also reminds us on how much farther we have to go in the future to truly become American."