Students passing by the torchbearer around noon yesterday might have noticed a crowd of over 100 people gathered in a semi-circle. They stood silent, heads forward, a look of determination in their eyes.

Minutes before, they had gathered at the University Center Plaza, standing in a circle and holding hands. They seized to speak and began to march, moving in a slow long line.

Primarily the purpose of the vigil is that African-Americans are frustrated with their portrayal on campus, said Javiette Samuel, an Inter-Organizational Production Council member who helped organize the event.

Among the issues the students were trying to bring attention to was the coverage of minorities by The Daily Beacon.

The destination to the torch was really symbolic in that the creed is to give light to others and often the stories you get about African-Americans are dark and dismal.

According to student Angela Hopson, the crime story on the Oct. 17 issue, which said the alleged victim identified a group of laughing bystanders as African-Americans, added to some students’ frustrations about the way they were portrayed on campus.

Hopson said she did not think African-Americans and the groups under the Office of Minority affairs were getting as much positive coverage as fraternities and other campus groups.

That was already an underlying problem, Hopson said. When the rape story came out, it fueled the fire.

Samuel said she hoped after the silent vigil a more balanced coverage would be achieved.

There is more good than bad, more positive than negative, Samuel said. However, the dark gruesome side is the only side that you see, even though it’s not totally accurate.

According to student Carla Strickland, the silent vigil helped students get their point across.

I think it was a good way for us to come together in a respectful way and show we can unite, Strickland said.

Hopson said students were prepared to take a step further if coverage did not change.

It was silent this time, Hopson said. But next time the picket signs will come, next time we will be in greater numbers, next time it will be a large event This was very small on the scale of things that we are very capable of doing. We just hope that we don’t have to go that far.

Jessica Holman, who attended the silent vigil, said she didn’t think the Beacon’s coverage of minorities was negative in general.

I don’t think one of the motives of the paper is to portrays minorities in a negative way, Holman said. If one only read the rape story, then they might make conclusions. However, after being a regular reader of the Beacon, I don’t believe that is one of their intentions. There have definitely been some positive stories.