A vigil for the lives lost during the Israeli and Gaza conflict was hosted in the Jobe lounge at Elgin Community College on Nov. 29, 2023. The vigil was organized by ECC student Anya Alfante and members of the Black Student Achievers Club or BSA.
The event took place at 4 pm and was attended by about thirty people. Two guest speakers spoke during the event.
ECC Professor of History Antonio Ramirez Spoke on some of the history relevant to the conflict and also offered his personal thoughts. Ramirez’s speech highlighted some of the injustices seen today towards the palestinians.
“Children as young as fourteen and fifteen are arrested for throwing rocks and put in Israeli military jails and held without charge,” Ramirez said.
A similar sentiment was spoken about by Administrative Law Judge Junaid Afeef in the context of unequal news coverage.
“We don’t hear the stories about why there are literally thousands of children imprisoned by Israel. We don’t hear the stories of why they were imprisoned. We don’t hear the stories of their reunification,” Afeef said.
The idea to hold a vigil was thought of by ECC Student Yttzel Serrato and was organized by Alfante. Alfante knows students in the BSA and was able to get their help organizing as well.
The event was originally planned to start in the jobe lounge and move to the edge of Lake Spartan. Due to winter weather, the vigil took place entirely inside jobe lounge instead.
After the speakers were finished, attendants were encouraged to turn on LED candles found under their seats and put them on a vigil table in the corner of the lounge. The vigil table has been left up with the candles still lit at the time of writing.
Attendees were also encouraged to take handouts provided by the organizers about the impact of the conflict on Palestinians.
During an interview with The Observer, Alfante spoke about how students can get involved.
“Learn with a hunger to know the truth,” Alfante said. “Be confident in knowing that at the end of the day, you are fighting for human rights.”
Ramirez offered several sources that he believes are reporting important information that does not have a pro-Israel bias. His choices are listed below.
