With their unsnapped glow sticks in their pockets as they stared at the ground, students joined in a moment of silence in observation of the Boston bombings and manhunt among other worldwide tragedies of the past week.

Wednesday evening, students gathered in the DUC courtyard for a candlelight vigil and moment of silence to reflect on the recent violence between Israel and Hamas in and around Gaza. Many other universities around the country held similar vigils the same night.

Both the Hebrew and Arabic words for peace come from the same root meaning “wholeness” or “togetherness.” About two dozen students on both sides of the Israel-Palestine ideological divide came together Wednesday evening to mourn the civilian casualties of the recent violence around Gaza in a candlelight vigil.

While a miscommunication forced organizers to create an event from scratch in two weeks and thus led to a significantly decreased turnout from last year, students said they still found this year’s Sept. 11 memorial valuable and hope it will continue in future years.

Students gathered Thursday night, October 21, for the Vigil of Awakening in remembrance of the recent suicides of students who had been targeted for being gay and in support of all the LGBTQIA youth who have been bullied. Members of the LGBT community and a large number of allies attended the vigil, as well as several community members.