On Thursday night, around 200 students gathered in Brookings Quadrangle for a candlelight vigil hosted by Muslim Students Association (MSA) for the three Muslim students murdered in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Tuesday.

Students form a large circle in Brookings Quadrangle and hold candles in honor of the three Muslim students killed in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Tuesday. Around 200 students stood in complete silence for three minutes in honor of each of the three lives lost.

The entire quad was filled with students and St. Louis community members for the vigil, which lasted 20 minutes. After three minutes of silence in honor of each victim, two members of the Iranian Cultural Society approached the vigil planners to read poems for the three students.

The three victims, Deah Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, were Muslim students living near the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Deah Barakat and Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha were dental students at UNC while Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha was a student at nearby North Carolina State University.

Senior Ayesha Mohyuddin, president of MSA, hoped that the vigil could help the community grieve together.

“We wanted a space to be able to process the entire event, knowing that the three that were murdered were Muslim students,” Mohyuddin said. “Almost seeing ourselves in them, we just wanted a space to be able to support each other and be able to find support within the Wash. U. community.”

Students and community members hold candles to remember the lives of three Muslim students from Chapel Hill, N.C., who were killed last week. The murders sparked outrage online, summed by the hashtag #MuslimLivesMatter, and led to students filling Brookings Quadrangle in their memory.

She also noted that she did not want the Muslim community to be seen as outsiders.

“Being able to see the humanity in each other, as tragic as this event was…being able to read about these three individuals lives and the way they touched so many people brings the humanizing face to the Muslim community, who is so often perceived as an other,” Mohyuddin said. “We’re just like anyone else.”

Sophomore Mohamed Gabir, who opened the vigil by reading a verse from the Quran, is the current secretary of MSA and hoped attendees realized the struggles Muslim students face every day.

“The purpose I envisioned in this event was a moment for healing and trying to acknowledge that this tragedy can happen,” Gabir said. “One of our goals was to make people aware of the situation that happens or [the experiences] many people go through on a daily basis as a Muslim student at college.”

“Tragic incidences like this remind us how precious and valuable life truly is,” senior Iqra Khan said during the vigil. “Unfortunately, they also remind us that in times like today, these incidences aren’t isolated. Within the Wash. U. community, the St. Louis community and on a national level, we’re beginning to realize there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.”

Sophomore Rishi Jaswaney and his brother senior Rohit Jaswaney grew up in the same community as Deah Barakat. Although their interaction was limited to pickup basketball games, Rishi Jaswaney remembered the impact Barakat left on his friends.

“He could have an impact on you through a lifetime or even just exchanging a few words,” Jaswaney said. “This loss is not a loss for his friends and family but for the entire community and the nation at large.”

Jaswaney hoped that the positive traits of the three students would be remembered and would not be overshadowed by the violence.

“They were loving sons and daughters, they were bright students and they dedicated their lives to the service of others,” Jaswaney said. “As you stand here, I want you not to fill yourself with anger but the same love they were fortunate to fill all of us with.”

Freshman Sid Kurkure said he came to the vigil because of the recent racial tensions on campus.

“One of the things that was really an issue was that there’s a lot of racial issues going on still,” Kurkure said. “It’s a lot more subtle than it was in recent years, and this latest incident and the way it’s being portrayed in the media is only a propagation of that issue.”

Additionally, he hopes society can work to remove the racial stigmas that currently exist.

“I think we have a lot of changing to do,” Kurkure said. “We have to do a lot to change the culture. We have to do a lot to make sure everyone knows that…all men are created equal.”