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Candlelight Vigil Held At Penn State To Memorialize Victims Of Orlando Shooting

 A rainbow flag representing pride in LGBT community unfolded on the stairs of Old Main. Students, faculty and community members held a candlelight vigil on Penn State’s University Park campus on June 13th, 2016 to honor the victims in the recent terroris
Credit Min Xian / WPSU
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WPSU
A rainbow flag representing pride in LGBT community unfolded on the stairs of Old Main. Students, faculty and community members held a candlelight vigil on Penn State’s University Park campus on June 13th, 2016 to honor the victims in the recent terrorist attack in Orlando, Florida.

Over a hundred people gathered on Penn State University Park’s campus last night to memorialize the victims of the recent mass shooting. It was named “Stand in Solidarity With Orlando,” and it also served to show support for the LGBTQA community.

Ben Wideman, a campus pastor at the 3rd Way Collective, was one of several religious leaders who spoke at the event. He said, “I think it was beautiful to watch, the way that people came together regardless of their religious background. We had people speaking from all kinds of religions, but the time was opened by two students from the Muslim tradition, speaking and rejecting the violence from their religious conviction.”

Numerous Penn State administrators and staff, including executive vice president and provost Nick Jones, expressed sympathy and solidarity with the LGBTQA community. The names of all identified victims were also read, in addition to a moment of silence.  

Erin Cassidy Hendrick was an associate producer at WPSU. She produced the programs “BookMark” and “This I Believe” for the station.
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