Alpha Phi Alpha hosts candlelight vigil

About 35 people braved the cold weather and wind last night to attend the third annual… About 35 people braved the cold weather and wind last night to attend the third annual candlelight vigil in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., but the weather caused the vigil to lack actual candlelight. Several candles were lit for a brief amount of time, but the wind quickly extinguished the flames.

Although the flames were blown out, the idea of the candlelight symbolized King’s “flame of freedom” that he lit each time he made a civil rights speech, said Jay Bryant, a senior who originally organized the event. Bryant is the media pass president of Alpha Phi Alpha, the fraternity that held the event.

The vigil continued with the attendees grasping their unlit candles and forming a circle. Several people took turns reading from scraps of paper that detailed King’s accomplishments in education and the civil rights movement.

Then people were given the chance to step into the middle of the circle and share their thoughts and feelings on King.

Senior Robert Brown stepped forward and said he thought King’s “I have a dream” speech was about hope for the future. “He knew that America would one day be a place that everyone could live in,” Brown said.

But that day hasn’t come yet according to junior Jason Flakes, Alpha Phi Alpha president. Although progress has been made in the civil rights movement, “the fight isn’t over yet,” he said.

The vigil ended with everyone stepping forward to close in the circle and saying a prayer.

Bryant said he felt the turnout was good considering the weather, which he thought was harsher than in past years. But he said he hopes the event gets bigger each year so it could eventually become an official University activity instead of a club-sponsored event.