Vigil for Orlando Brings Students, Community Together in Peace

BRIDGEHAMPTON, NY: The youngest in the community led the way toward a more peaceful tomorrow Tuesday night at a vigil held in Bridgehampton to honor those lost in Orlando during the deadliest mass shooting in United States history.

The candlelight vigil was held at the Bridgehampton School and in the hamlet and organized by teacher Tom House.

"Please join me and the students of Bridgehampton School in a candlelight vigil Tuesday evening, June 14, to honor the tragic loss of innocent lives in Orlando," he wrote on Facebook before the event.

The group met on the front lawn of the school and joined for a "peaceful walk" into Bridgehampton, stopping at the Hampton Library and making a loop of the village before returning to the school.

Waving posters that read "We are Orlando" and a banner made by Bridgehampton students that referenced the name of their team, "Bees Stand With Orlando," the group was strong in solidarity and their pledge to make the world a better place.

"Such a strong and comforting show of support this evening from the school and town so close to my heart. Thanks to everyone who walked with us and spread the word and cheered us on. Let's stay together and keep the good will going," House said.

He added, " It was a wonderful experience, with so many people from the community taking part."

The world was rocked Sunday by news of the shooting at the Pulse Orlando Night Club & Ultra Lounge, which left 49 dead and 53 injured.

The shooting took place at a nightclub popular with the gay community, while about 350 people were dancing and drinking.

The suspect, Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, was killed by law enforcement in an exchange of gunfire, according to Orlando Police Chief John Mina.

A first vigil organized on Sunday night outside the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton was organized, House said, to "help us peacefully mourn the tragic loss of lives and show our solidarity with the Orlando, LGBTQ and Latino communities."

Of that initial gathering, he said, "I was so grateful to be among friends and kindred spirits, to communally express our shock and grief at the horror in Orlando. I didn't want to just sit at home by myself, writing and reacting on Facebook. And I didn't see any public gathering forming locally to honor the victims, so I got in touch with a few of the truly caring people in the community I know, people always ready to give of their time for humane and charitable causes. And they were right there."

The first vigil, he said, "was spur of the moment, and I had never been part of a vigil or demonstration like this before, let alone organized one, so I was winging it."

And yet, the group, he said, seemed to know exactly what to do. House said he was pleased that former students of Bridgehampton and some members of the Bridgehampton staff joined the vigil.

"We were a fairly small group, so we stayed in one spot with the signs we had made, raising them to the west-going Sunday traffic and to people passing on the street. There were so many positive reactions from the passersby; that in itself was very comforting," he said.

Tuesday's vigil, he said, was for students. Hours in advance of the event, he and the students created the bright, colorful signs of hope together.

"I want them to have the opportunity to participate in a vigil, to have an example of their home community coming together to express grief over a national, even global tragedy in a peaceful, caring — but it's for myself, too. I need to do something, face down terror and hate in whatever small ways I can with its opposites: decency, empathy, solidarity. Find my spot of goodness and connect it with others'. There's so much goodness in so many people in our local community, and I want to help display that and nurture that, and I know, by all the interest that's been generated just today, that many others do, too."

House said he was hit hard by the identities of the victims in the tragedy. "They're so young," he said.

House brought signs and banners from Sunday's vigil to show his students Monday; he teaches both middle and high school. Eighth graders volunteered to help paint a banner, he said.

Of the vigils, he said, "You have to stand up to terrorists with solidarity, decency and human goodness," he said. "And it's helpful to be around other people to communally express your grief."

Kathryn Szoka, owner of Canio's bookstore, said Sunday night's vigil "all came together. It was a nice group of people that showed up. We got a really positive response from cars driving by, which felt good. We just wanted to be in solidarity with the LGBTQ community down in Orlando."

Particularly painful was the fact that the tragedy unfolded at a gay nightclub, Szoka said. "When people go someplace where they really feel they might be comfortable and not subject to abuse, to have this happen is even more tragic than you can possibly imagine."

As the world struggles to make sense of the pain, vigils are meaningful, Szoka said. "It's nice to be a community, to be with people, share your sorrow and also, stand in solidarity and try to figure out a different way, instead of rage and anger — to find some kind of healing."

Vigils are planned for the coming days in Aquebogue, Southold and Cutchogue, with others being announced daily. 

Patch photos courtesy of Tom House, Joey Jenkins, Kelly Harris and Lisa Votino-Tarrant.