By Gabrielle Liu — Junior Copy Editor

 One year after the message “He raped me. I reported. He’s still in my class. BU Take Action” was painted across a cement barrier on the bridge leading to Bishop’s University, students and community members returned to Optimist Park to take part in the Silent Vigil for Survivors. The vigil was organized by the Sexual Culture Committee (SCC) on Thursday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m.

People slowly slipped into a small gathering in a corner of Optimist Park. Quiet conversations, the odd comment about how few people were at the vigil compared to the one held last year, people glancing towards the bridge to make sure any stragglers knew to head to Optimist. SCC members passed out tealights to those walking in. The number of attendees at this year’s vigil hovered around 45 people. 

Georgia LaPierre, one of the senior co-chairs of the SCC, opened the night and thanked all who showed up. She recalled the message on the bridge as the event that “ignited a call for action” last school year. “Just because the year is past doesn’t mean there aren’t survivors around here today,” she said. She explained the events for that night: a moment of silence for two to three minutes, followed by a recording of the “Wildflower” song sung by Special Advisor to Indigenous Student Support Vicky Boldo. Then, attendees could write messages of support on a large white banner that would be hung on the bridge, where they could also leave their lit candles.

As Boldo’s voice eased the attendees out of the silence, others joined in, murmuring the familiar song. Though the speaker playing “Wildflower” had a battery malfunction, the small crowd welcomed light laughter. 

Caroline Homet, a third-year Bishop’s student, said that the vigil was important “for survivors to know we haven’t forgotten them.” For her, around this time last year, there was a lot of anger that needed to be felt. “But now, we’re having conversations we couldn’t have had last year,” she mentioned, referencing the Take Back the Night Forum held on Oct. 19, where participants discussed topics like perpetrator rehabilitation.

A former Champlain College student, requested to be known as Megan, came from Richmond to attend the vigil after reading about it in The Record. She attended Champlain in 2014, when the bike path through Bishop’s golf course leading to the Champlain residences was unlit. She spoke about how the darkness of that path and stories of sexual assault happening there led many students, especially if they were alone, to choose to walk the loop down College St. and up Queen St. to reach Champlain residences at night. She was attending McGill last year when she saw the story of the bridge, which came as a shock, but she remembered that sexual violence was always a well-known problem in the area, albeit it being “hushed”. Noting that the bike path now had lights and there were improved safety measures, Megan also pointed out that while security may be available 24/7 at Bishop’s, it couldn’t be assumed that people always had their phones on them to call for help. “My phone is dead right now,” she mentioned.

Jaclyn Dykstra, a third-year student at Bishop’s, encouraged her co-workers from Student Safety to attend the vigil that night. Though she found the number of people present at the vigil disappointing, she was encouraged that people showed up despite the event not being publicized as much as last year. For her, it was more important that there are supporters of survivors, “whether they are here or not.” She said the conversations around sexual violence have changed “tremendously” over the last year. However, when asked to compare how she felt around this time last year to seeing Bishop’s now, Dykstra said she still feels a lot of grief, not so much optimism. She maintained that most of the people she spent time with in her first year were no longer at Bishop’s, leaving because of the effects of sexual violence.