Who: President David M. Dooley, Dean of Arts and Sciences Winifred Brownell, students, faculty and staff
What: URI’s Vigil for Remembrance and Peace
When: Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Kingston Campus Quadrangle
To Cover: Contact Dave Lavallee, URI Marketing and Communications, 401-874-5862 or dlavallee@uri.edu
Remarks from President Dooley inviting campus community to event:
“It is difficult to capture in words the emotions that many of us may be experiencing in these days of seemingly continuous war and terrorism. The events in Paris and Beirut, the fatal bombing of the Russian airliner, the massacre of students at a Kenyan university last April, and the ongoing conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, are among the many tragedies that confront and challenge all of us. But as a University community that has come together so successfully over the past few years to foster friendship, acceptance and respect, we know the answer to these events is not fear and isolation, but a sincere welcome, a warm embrace, to all who work and study here, and to all who visit our community.
In that spirit, I invite the entire University community to URI’s Vigil for Remembrance and Peace Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 4:30 p.m. on the Quadrangle for all of the victims of terror and violence around the world.”
The program is listed below:
-A reading by Gitahi Gititi, professor of English, film and media studies, and African and African American studies, in remembrance of the victims of the attack at Garissa University in Kenya.
-A reading in Arabic by URI engineering student Asma Sammoura, in memory of the victims of the attack in Beirut, Lebanon.
-A performance of France’s national anthem, “La Marseillaise” by URI graduate student Leah Crescenzo, in remembrance of the victims of the attacks in Paris.
-A reading in Russian by Nicolai Petro, professor of comparative and international politics, in memory of the victims of the Russian plane explosion in Egypt.
-A concluding song performed by URI students in remembrance of all people affected by these and other acts of violence around the world, and in hope and solidarity for peaceful times ahead. Music student Andrew Gribbin will sing “Priez pour la paix” (“Pray for Peace”), accompanied by Tyler Sowers (computer science).
The vigil will close with remarks by Winifred Brownell, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.