Blazers honor the victims of the Uvalde and Buffalo shootings

On May 14, a gunman killed 10 people at a supermarket in Buffalo. Just 10 days later, a gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas and killed 19 children and two teachers. 

Yesterday, to honor the victims of these two mass shootings, the MBHS Latinx Leaders Association organized a vigil during lunch. 

Senior Yasmine Rivera, president of the Latinx Leaders Association, organized the vigil with other members of the club to bring awareness to the recent events. "It was something very tragic…[and] we decided that just having that minute of silence that day in school was not enough," she says. 

They prepared shirts and bags with the victims' names written on them. After a speech by the organizers, Blazers then took turns coming up to the megaphone to recite the names of the victims and light candles. Blazers then dedicated poems and songs in tribute to the victims of the mass shootings. 

Vigil

Photo: Blazers laid candles on the prepared shirts and bags to honor the victims of the mass shootings.

Blazers laid candles on the prepared shirts and bags to honor the victims of the mass shootings. Photo courtesy of Sophia Zeng.

Junior Estefany Benitez, vice president of Latinx Leaders, along with the other organizers of the vigil invested a lot of effort into the preparations. "We didn't have enough time. It took two days to do with effort. We cared so much to say…these words. We put our time into it … [to] talk with the community," Benitez says. 

At the end of the vigil, Principal Renay Johnson and Counselor Makeyda Soriano thanked the Latinx Leaders Association and reminded Blazers that counselors are always available to talk about these recent shootings.