EAST LANSING, Mich. — Following the mass shooting at Michigan State University on Monday, students gathered in the heart of campus for a vigil on Wednesday to grieve and remember the three victims.
It was a massive turn-out. Hundreds of people congregated by the Sparty Statue, which was by then surrounded with flowers, and they marched through campus to The Rock, where even more people joined them for a candelight vigil.
There, the hundreds turned into nearly ten thousand, gathering to remember Brian Fraser, Arielle Anderson, and Alexandria Verner.
Among the crowd were brothers of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity who were in tears, having lost their president, Brian Fraser, in the shooting.
Both Michigan State University leaders and students spoke at the vigil. Coach Tom Izzo was among one of those who spoke at Wednesday's vigil.
"I can't begin to imagine what all of you are going through," he said, "but I do know that we, as a community, can offer our support both to you and to each other."
"We're Spartan tough," he said. "We're Spartan strong."
Dr. Rima Vassar, the chair of the Board of Trustees at MSU, said she never expected her daughter would have this kind of experience at the university. "Run, hide, or fight. This is the alert that was given to all of Spartans across the campus. When I sent my baby here, to MSU, I knew she'd have a lot of messages...I didn't think she would get a message about how to keep her life."
Vassar went on to encourage the MSU community to love each other and themselves.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer was also in attendance at her alma mater, laying flowers in front of the memorial before addressing the community at the vigil. She said she'd heard stories from the students still recovering in Sparrow Hospital.
"I will tell you I met with two survivors today. One of whom told me he wanted me to share with you that a fellow Spartan took off his shirt and pressed on his chest and saved his life. When we saw that, like Michigan parents, who showed the power of their love through their actions, many came and are here today wanting nothing more than to hold their kids tight and tell them it's going to be okay," said Governor Whitmer.
The governor also told the crowd "thoughts and prayers are over," saying she's committed to carrying out change, so that no other parent or child has to go through a similar tragedy.
At MSU @GovWhitmer putting flowers in front of the rock following three students killed at her alma mater. pic.twitter.com/Jpgikg8fNQ
— Matt Witkos Reporter (@matt_witkos) February 16, 2023
Law enforcement was also present at the event, with state troopers providing security so that MSU Public Safety officerswere able to attend and grieve at the vigil.
The Rock has been repainted multiple times since the shooting. At the time of the vigil, it had the university’s logo and says “Always a Spartan," with names of the three students who were killed in the shooting painted underneath.
The vigil can be watched below:
