UC Berkeley Vigil Remembers Student Who Died In Bangladesh Attack
BERKELEY (CBS SF) -- UC Berkeley students gathered Tuesday to remember one of their own with a vigil for a victim in the Bangladesh terror attacks who attended the university.
Tarishi Jain came to Cal in 2014. She was completing an internship with the school's Center for Bangladesh Studies in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Jain was among the 21 people killed in the terror attack at a bakery on Friday.
The vigil for Jain started at around 12 p.m. as friends and fellow students came to remember the 19-year-old.
Jain was a Berkeley sophomore who planned to major in economics. She was an Indian citizen who was a member of the international students association at the university.
Jain's family lived in Dhaka. She was able to speak to her father on her cell phone moments before she was killed.
It was a friend from that group who organized the Tuesday vigil.
"We wanted to put together a space where students could mourn and grieve collectively and reflect on who Tarishi was for them," said William Morrow of the Associated Students of the University of California.
Several hundred people turned out for the on-campus remembrance in front of Sproul Hall.
"Today our hearts are broken and we stand together in solidarity and support with Tarishi's family and her friends. As we do so, we cannot help but ask ourselves how to make sense of what seems senseless," UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks said.
A candlelight vigil was held in Dhaka over the weekend before her body was flown to Gurgaon Monday. She was then cremated in New Delhi.
Those who knew Jain said she was a very smart, ambitious young woman with a huge heart.
"It's terrible to end her life that short," said her friend and fellow Cal student Guadalupe Corona. "To be somewhere where you thought you were going to learn and to end up in a tragedy."
The vigil ended at 1 p.m. Tuesday afternoon and was open to everyone in the UC Berkeley community.
To help students and faculty grieve, the school's University Health Services department will be offering counseling services throughout the week, said Susan Bell, the school's assistant director of outreach and consultation services.
Students can drop by the school's Tang Center anytime between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to talk to a counselor and no appointment will be needed. Additionally, the school will hold a support space Wednesday at the school's Multicultural Community Center starting at 2:30 p.m. for students and staff seeking a safe space to talk, Bell said.
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