In the light of the school shooting of Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, there are those on campus who are strongly opposed to the senseless bloodshed that has plagued our country for centuries. At what point does the impact of a murder change to a simple statistic? Santa Clara’s Saugus High lost two students. I am sure by now it is easy to say “What a relief, only two.”
But only two what though? Let’s put something behind that statistic. That is two children, a son and a daughter. That is two students, snuffed off a path that we all similarly walked. That is two grandchildren, two friends, two potential role models, two innocents and two souls.
After hearing and reading about these tragedies for so many years, the urge to numb ourselves and to look to apathy as a saving grace is a normal coping method. However, I urge you to not lose yourself in the apathy and to actually take time to mourn. We cannot mourn everyone, everywhere, at all times. We would go insane. What we can do is seize opportunities in our community to honor and remember lost souls.
On Thursday, Nov. 21, at 7 p.m., Brave Space, an organization on campus that looks to promote safety, community, inclusion and awareness of mental health for LGBTQ+ individuals on campus will hold a Transgender Day of Remembrance. So far, in 2019, there have been 22 people murdered because of one aspect of their identity.
Berlin Fuqua photo by Nathan Heinze
Berlin Fuqua, the president of Brave Space, initiated this gathering in order to honor and memorialize individuals who have lost their lives or been injured due to violence based on transphobia.
The service will begin with a prayer at the Lion and Lamb Peace Arts Center, located behind the apartments in Riley Court. Once everyone is ready for the procession, attendees will light candles and begin to walk.
The ceremony will then journey in a circuit via Spring and Elm streets then continue onto North Main Street. The group will either turn on Cherry Street or continue further down North Main, depending on the weather.
The procession will lead the group to First Mennonite Church where the ceremony will continue. This will include a few prayers, a speech from the president of Brave Space, music and the reading of names.
Reading the names is the moment where participants can truly humanize and acknowledge the victims and all of the people that they were connected to and were forced to leave behind. It is an opportunity for anyone who feels as though violence against an individual based on a singular, private and personal factor of their identity is immoral.
It is also an opportunity for attendees to honor those whom they have lost to senseless transphobic violence. If you would like to read a name, contact Berlin Fuqua.
Attendance to this event would mean a tremendous amount to more individuals on campus than one might guess.
“You have no idea of who is who’s not gay or apart of the LGBTQ spectrum,” said Fuqua. “I think because of the culture of this campus, I feel like Bluffton is not a place where people feel safe and comfortable to be who they are.”
If you support moving our community in the direction of upholding Bluffton’s mission statement, please make time to be at the Lion and Lamb Center at 7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 21.
Shaped by the historic peace church tradition and nourished by a desire for excellence in all phases of its programs, Bluffton University seeks to prepare students of all backgrounds for life as well as vocation, for responsible citizenship, for service to all peoples and, ultimately, for the purposes of God’s universal kingdom.
