A candlelight vigil was held Monday, Oct. 14, at the Kennesaw State Legacy Gazebo for a student murdered in the Stadium Village apartment complex the week prior.
Following KSU freshman Oluwafemi “Femi” Oyerinde’s death on Sunday, Oct. 6, KSU students held a candlelight vigil on the Kennesaw campus.
KSU Student Government Association Senator of American Minorities Dasia Jones and senior mechanical engineering major Michael Aniagboso organized the event, which was attended by about 120 people, according to Jones.
At the vigil, students in attendance were given electric candles provided by the Office of the Dean of Students and a moment of silence was announced by Jones.
Aniagboso spoke on behalf of Oyerinde. Jones said students in the audience reflected on their memories and experiences with Oyerinde after Aniagboso’s speech.
“I thought it exceeded my expectations as far as how many people came, how many people supported and spoke,” Jones said. “My main thing was that students came and shared their memories with him, and those who didn’t even know him spoke.”
Also in attendance were KSU President Dr. Pamela Whitten, Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Sylvia Carey-Butler and Associate Vice President and Dean of Students Dr. Michael Sanseviro, Jones said.
Jones said that SGA organized the event, but most of the work was done by her and Aniagboso. SGA elected not to put their organization name on flyers because the event was not about them hosting, Jones said.
Aniagboso approached Jones while she was tabling for an event outside of the SGA office the day after Oyerinde’s death and proposed the idea for the vigil, according to Jones.
According to the AJC, Aniagboso knew Oyerinde’s family through attending the same church. The following day, the two held a moment of silence for Oyerinde in the Carmichael Student Center and began planning the vigil.
Jones planned and promoted the event to students and student organizations, also meeting with Carey-Butler and Sanseviro to spread the word for the administration to attend.
Aniagboso spearheaded the vigil, urging the crowd to spread love throughout his speech.
“Look around you. Look at your brothers, look at your sisters here. Everyone is here out of love,” Aniagboso said according to the Marietta Daily Journal. This is what the power of love is. This is what the power of compassion is.”
Jones hopes the student body can support each other and come together during any future campus tragedies.
“We can all create a community that is supportive of one another in terms of positivity as well,” Jones said.
The Sentinel reported that 22-year-old Kashman Rael Thomas was accused of killing 18-year-old Oyerinde and wounding two others.
According to the Sentinel, Thomas turned himself in to the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit and members of a United States Marshals task force, facing six felony charges.
