The Alpha Kappa Delta Phi sorority held their annual candlelight vigil in honor of Valerie Zavala on Wednesday evening in Sweeney Hall.
Valerie Zavala, a sister of the sorority’s San José State chapter and a student from San José State, was murdered on New Year’s of 2003, according to an article by SFGATE.
Alpha Kappa Delta Phi held a vigil in memory every year since her death, according to a post from its Instagram page.
The sorority is dedicated to promoting sisterhood, philanthropy, scholastic excellence and Asian-Awareness in the campus community, according to their website.
Marketing junior Kristine Nguyen, the vice president of service for Alpha Kappa Delta Phi, led the vigil.
“We are all gathered here today to stand in solidarity of one of our fallen sisters,” Nguyen said. “She passed away as a victim of violence after a New Year’s party. She was only 19 years old.”
Audience members were given a candle, and were asked to light it and stand in a moment of silence.
The audience participated in an activity where they left painted handprints on a poster with the words “These hands are for” written on it. They wrote answers in response to the prompt and wrote positive things their hands are capable of.
Messages that were written included statements about using hands for love, appreciation, kindness and protecting.
The poster was completely covered from corner to corner with handprints and writing by the end of the vigil.
“I really want everybody to come out of this and take something, and use it,” Nguyen said. “So it’s helpful to them in the future.”
Public health senior President Helen Luu, president of Alpha Kappa Delta Phi, said the activity represents an opportunity for people to find different ways they can help people being affected by violence.
Luu said she’s been participating in the vigil every year since she was a freshman, and that the handprint activity means a lot to her.
“Having people participate, and think about what they’re doing with their hands is a great way to find what they can do to help,” she said.
Luu said the vigil’s dedication to raising awareness about violence gives people a purpose and can help give individuals insight into what makes them special.
The sorority also held a virtual Zoom workshop to discuss awareness about violence on Tuesday night. It was dedicated to teaching valuable insights, practical strategies and contributing to creating a safer campus community, according to an Instagram story by the sorority.
“This year, I wanted to kind of incorporate a learning aspect of it, and then tell our fellow friends how to kind of approach a situation and how to handle that situation,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen said the purpose of the workshop was to help people access different resources and to help educate them on various forms of violence.
“Telling them about different violence that occurs whether it be in a relationship or a friendship, I feel it’s important to talk about because it’s so common,” Nguyen said.
About 21,200 violent crimes were reported on college campuses in 2020, according to a website by the National Center for Education Statistics. Within the 21,200 reported crimes, 44% were forcible sex offenses.
Business analytics senior and sorority member Toni Tran said the sorority provides resources to help people suffering from sexual, domestic and emotional violence.
“It definitely hits home for us to express, especially since the girl that passed unfortunately from specifically our chapter,” Tran said. “We hold it very dear to our hearts.”
Tran said that keeping the tradition alive is a stressful task for her to carry, and that she’s been attending the vigil since she started attending SJSU three years ago.
“I don’t want to disappoint any alumni or her family even,” Tran said. “Even though it can be kind of anxiety provoking, I still think it's very important for us to put our best foot forward to keep this tradition alive and do it well.”
