Alyssa Parker, freshman, hosted the Candlelight Vigil & Discussion on May 4 in the Pierce-White atrium. On Sunday, April 30, a 15-year-old boy, Jordan Edwards, was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas.

“It’s something that happened this past Sunday and the news spread nationally, and Alyssa spoke with me about her feelings about it and how she wanted just more awareness on campus about this type of issue,” Ebony King, Director of Multicultural Engagement & Student Activities, explained.

King says, “We saw that the family didn’t want any protests or anything like that. They [said] if anyone wanted to honor their son’s life, to have a […] vigil, so we decided to have not just that, but a discussion before it.”

King went on to explain the impact of this event to college students given that Edwards was a high school senior.

“Freshmen just experienced graduating, going to prom, being accepted to college, so that is still fresh in their minds [and] it hits home more for that age group,” she said.

Parker hoped that holding the event at BVU would help bring awareness about issues of race to the campus audience.

“My goal was to help people know what happened and educate people why this is important. I think this should be important to everyone,”  Parker said. “I think we had good discussion, and I was happy that it wasn’t all one race or one gender. We were able to hear different sides, and we could all empathize with his family.”

King’s goal for the event was to see “more awareness from people who hear about these things, but it’s not in their consciousness.”

King explained that while some may feel empathy about events like this for a short time, they often then quickly they go about their lives.

“I want them to really know how people are feeling and how it affects different people,” King said. “Also for students who feel a certain way about it, for them to express themselves and have a space they can express themselves freely.”

Parker gives advice to those who feel the anger and frustration after this police shooting.

“Use that anger to fuel something bigger than ourselves,” she said. “My main point is to honor this young boy and to have conversations that are sometimes hard to have […] even though they are hard they are important.”