Student volunteers worked throughout the night to paint a memorial wall in honor of UCSB students lost in the Isla Vista tragedy. Credit: Melissa Barthelemy
Melissa BarthelemyA campus message wall has been repurposed into a memorial wall paying tribute to the UCSB students lost in the Isla Vista tragedy. Paying out of pocket to get this time-sensitive project going, History grad student Melissa Barthelemy says she and other volunteer artists “battled raccoons, skunks, and ferrel cats simultaneously (literally) until 1:30 a.m.” in The Arbor to finish the first phase of "We Remember Them: A Place of Healing at The Arbor."
“This project will continue to grow,” she said. “In the afternoon we will have copies of beautiful enlarged photos of the memorial events displayed at our station.” Melissa said “these two undergrads, in particular, were close to the victims and are proud to have pulled this art piece off.”
GSA is sponsoring a booth at the exhibit. It will be open today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and depending on the number of volunteers, it plans to keep it open much longer. In a news release, the GSA said: "The motivation behind this is that we as graduate students want to reach out and support our undergraduates, as well as each other, during this difficult time. This is a place where we can come together to mourn and to help heal our community. It is also going to be focused on drawing attention to the actual victims of the Isla Vista tragedy, something that has paled in comparison to the media’s focus on the perpetrator."
"There is a large wooden exhibit that will feature chalk walls that can be written on, as well as art materials where the community can write cards to the families, thank you cards to the people and groups who got us through this difficult week, and view photographs, such as those from the Isla Vista Memorial Paddle Out," the news release stated. "What we need the most are volunteers to help staff this booth. Ideally two volunteers per one hour shift. If there are enough volunteers to support keeping the booth open for more days this week, that would be fantastic. If you are interested in dedicating an hour of your time to an important cause by staffing the booth or volunteering in some other way, please email Melissa Barthelemy at mjbarthelemy@gmail.com.
Melissa invites everyone to come out to The Arbor to view and pay your respects at the memorial wall.