Almost 200 University of Wisconsin-Madison students gathered on Bascom Hill Friday to pay their respects to the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn. that took place earlier Friday.
The vigil was organized by UW-Madison freshman Anthony Birch in response to the shooting of 26 people, including 20 children, by a gunman who entered the school and opened fire.
Birch created a Facebook event to spread the word to the entire campus and surrounding community about the vigil.
“As college students, we may not be able to do much,” Birch said in his speech at the vigil. “But we can do this.”
Students who attended the ceremony lit candles and prayed for the victims, their families and anyone who was impacted by the tragic events.
Birch also brought cards to the event that students could sign before he mailed them to the elementary school to express students’ sympathy at the tragedy
“Let’s give Newtown some Badger love,” Birch said in the Facebook event.
