UCSB students hold Solidarity Vigil
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) University of California, Santa Barbara students held a Solidarity Vigil on campus.
The vigil included a moment of silence below the Storke Tower landmark.
They held candles and read the names of people shot or missing due to Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota and California and other states.
A student speaker said it is their responsibility to speak up for those who cannot.
She said it is easy to feel alone at times like this, but when she asked students to look around she said they can see they are not alone.
She said the fear people are feeling is common
Neighbors and professors also took part..
Tania Mancilla is a fourth year UCSB students who said her immigrant parents sacrificed so that she could have an education.
"I just really want people to know that what is happening in this world right now is so unbelievably sad, we are all human we all have hearts and immigrants are here for better lives, they want to create better lives for themselves for their families, said Mancilla, "especially my parents were immigrants that is why they came here to give me a better life, I would not be where I am today without my parents, my mom and my dad who sacrificed so much to give me better opportunities, I am able to get a higher education because of them."
Chicano Studies Professor Ralph Armbruster-Sandoval reminded students that the campus has a long history of activism.
"It is great seeing all these students out here, they are the ones who organized this, they felt in their hearts they wanted to do something to lift up the people in Minneapolis who have been trying to block ICE from deporting their moms and dads and stuff like that, they feel connected to them and it is inspiring to see what they have been doing out there," said Dr. Armbruster-Sandoval.
He said it is good to be with people sharing their feelings following traumatic events like the shooting deaths of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.
Students also carried their candles during a walk to the University Center, known as the UCEN.
