The participants of the vigil marched outside of the Erb Memorial Union and circled the block, forming a winding column of supporters.

EUGENE, Ore. -- The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Queer Transsexual Alliance held a candle light vigil Tuesday night in response to the discovery of a swastika painted on the University of Oregon student group’s office floor Monday.

The supporters lit candles outside the Erb Memorial Union, the location of the Associated Students of Oregon office, the LGBQTA office and other affiliated student union offices.

Mirjan Staeb wears a gay pride pin and represents the Associated Students of the University of Oregon’s support for the LGBQTA’s event.

Participants marched around the block to an amphitheater where speakers denounced the vandalism, emphasizing the shared effect on all minority groups on campus and in the Eugene area.

Mayor Kitty Piercy gave her support to the vigil and stressed the city’s commitment to solidarity. Piercy was one amongst the diverse speakers that included administrators, professors, students, and community members who sought to demonstrate unity against intimidation. Speaker’s related personal experiences of discrimination and violent prejudice. 
 

The participants of the vigil marched outside of the Erb Memorial Union and circled the block, forming a winding column of supporters.

Alex Esparza, LGBQTA co-director and the vigil’s coordinator, said that the ASUO and other student groups were quick to respond to the vandalism, gathering the afternoon after the swastika’s discovery to plan four days of events, beginning with the vigil. Esparza described his own motivation as anger.

“I used that anger to build this coalition with the ASUO and other student groups to rally around this cause,” Esparza said.

Michael Williams, Anti-Hate Task Force member, speaks to the gathered crowd, one of the many voices raised during the vigil denouncing the vandalsim.

A fellow student wipes tears from Mirjan Staeb’s cheek as she deplores the ASUO’s failure to remove the Pacifica Forum from campus, a group that recently has been condemned for its hosting white supremacists on campus.

The vandalism followed conflict between student body members and the Pacifica Forum over the forum’s right to host white supremacist speakers on campus as an exercise in free speech.

Last Friday, the ASUO rejected a proposal to remove the forum from campus despite student’s fears about the forum meeting on campus, a motion that some students could have prevented the hateful vandalism.
 
Mirjan Staeb, an ASUO member, was outraged that the Pacifica Forum could be tolerated and connected the vandalism to the forum’s presence, saying after the rally, “Something should have been done sooner, and something could have been done sooner.”