After the May 23 shootings at UCSB, the community came together on many occasions to process and mourn. There was a candlelight vigil, a memorial in the soccer stadium, and rolling blackboards erected on campus for people to express themselves. Finals came and went, summer came and went.
Arriving back on campus, there are still raw nerves and exposed reactions. The AS Program Board held an event to “remember the loved ones we lost…to forge a better future for Isla Vista and to create better relationships amongst ourselves.” There were songs by the a cappella group Naked Voices, a speech by the student government president, a speech by the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, a speech by the Program Board directors. As the VC was motivating students to do the right thing in Isla Vista, a boy next to me said that he felt like he was being talked down to by his dad. From his comment, I thought that he was the very one who should take heed of these self-responsibility suggestions.
This event was billed as having a special musical guest. Then it was hinted that it was going to be an alumni musical guest. It was starting to sound like Jack Johnson. Rumors swirled all day, until Johnson was spotted on campus and posted an Instagram of himself in front of the bell tower.
Storke Plaza was packed and no one was disappointed with the event. After an hour, Johnson said he had a very long set and was that ok with the audience? The crowd went wild. I left due to exhaustion but the positive energy was amazing. I hope this moves us toward community healing.
