Hundreds gather at BYU vigil for Virginia Tech

PROVO — Patches of orange and maroon clothing, reflecting Virginia Tech's school colors, could be seen as the BYU community held a candlelight vigil Friday night to honor victims of this week's massacre at the Virginia school.

Several hundred students, faculty and family members joined in prayer and song to remember the 32 victims slain by a gunman Monday at the university in the quiet hills of Virginia.

Marisa Kelley, a BYU junior studying sound voice recording technology, graduated from Hylton High School in Woodbridge, Va., several hours from Virginia Tech. She said nearly a fourth of her graduating class went to Virginia Tech.

"I was devastated when I heard what had happened," Kelley said. "I found out a friend of mine was killed and I felt like we weren't paying enough attention to this."

She initially organized her thoughts on the Web's facebook site, and the response was that something needed to be done.

Kelley took her idea and met with associate dean of Student Life Jonathan Kau on Wednesday.

"He was really helpful and said that BYU would even supply the candles for the vigil," Kelley said.

After the gathering was approved, the dean's office got the word out by sending a mass e-mail to all BYU students with the details of the gathering.

Memorials and vigils, often accompanied by the tolling of church bells, have been held on campuses across the nation the past few days, bringing students and community members together to honor the victims of the Virginia Tech attack. A ceremony was held Thursday at the University of Utah. Other schools, including Weber State University, observed moments of silence and sent messages of condolence.

Besides the vigil at BYU Friday, banners were up all day for students to write messages to the victims and survivors of the massacre. Beau Dunn took charge of the banners because of a personal experience he had several years ago that helped his family.

"There were students at BYU who lost loved ones and it broke my heart," Dunn said. "I had a sister who died a few years ago and the local high schools sent us banners. There were probably a couple of thousand signatures, and it meant a lot to our family. My parents read every one of them."

Dunn said he wanted to do the same for those grieving in Virginia.

"It's just a way to let them know at Virginia Tech that we're thinking about them."