A prayer vigil, organized by Georgia Southern University students Caleb Rogers and Marissa Lovins, was held on the grass around the Rotunda today at noon and was open to students and faculty.

“We wanted to do something. It started when I texted a few friends, and it got a lot bigger than I thought it would,” Rogers, sophomore public relations major, said. “It makes this campus feel much more like a community,”

Rogers and Lovin did not know the deceased student, but felt that respect should be shown in some way.

“I don’t think we realized how many people would show up,” Lovins, sophomore pre-nursing major, said. “I feel like we are closer as a student body,”

Students appreciated the chance to do something for the family.

“It’s a great way to take some time out of the day to pay respects,” Patrick McKibben, freshman biology major, said.

“I feel a lot of pride in how everyone is showing their support,” Lacey Hall, sophomore communication arts major, said.

“It makes me proud to be an eagle,” Eden Smith, junior public relations major, said.

“It’s a nice way to show our support for the family,” Emily Rountree, freshman psychology major, said.

Josh Naddor, freshman math major, said, “It’s weird. When this happened at my high school, which has about one tenth of the people, it wasn’t as emotional.”

The family of the deceased was not on campus for the vigil.