New Haven Register - April 17, 2008

'Lie-in' remembers Virginia Tech massacre -
Event also honors slain UNH student; mother aims to change gun laws
By Amanda Howe, Special to the Register

WEST HAVEN - University of New Haven students dressed in black and wore maroon and orange ribbons around their necks Wednesday during a lie-in to remember the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre on the first anniversary of the killings, and to protest gun laws.

A similar event was held in Blacksburg, Va., and on campuses nationwide, as students and others paid tribute to the 32 victims of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. On the campus of Virginia Tech, the accomplishments of the 32 were read amid tears, and bells tolled for each of the victims.

"The world was cheated - cheated out of the accomplishments that were sure to come from these extraordinary lives," Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine told those on the campus there.

At UNH, those gathered also memorialized a fellow student who fell victim to gun violence about 18 months ago. Jessica Santos, then a sophomore at UNH majoring in criminal investigation, was shot and killed at random in New York on Aug. 27, 2006, as she was saying goodbye to friends on the day before she was to return to campus for the school year.

Her mother, Jisela Marin, has since joined New Yorkers Against Gun Violence and is the chapter leader for Westchester County. She has been in contact with the group, Protest Easy Guns, a nonpartisan, grass-roots organization, which came up with the idea for a lie-in.

"The purpose of the lie-in is to lay silent for three minutes because that is how long it takes to purchase a gun in Virginia," Marin said.

Marin contacted Nikita Carmona, a junior at UNH, to help organize the lie-in here. Together, they were able to gather a group of about 30 students.

Each student was dressed in black from head to toe. They were given maroon and orange ribbons, Virginia Tech's colors, to wear around their necks, ribbons that were made, according to Marin, by family members or victims and survivors of the shooting.

Marin spoke to the group about the importance of stricter gun laws, to prevent incidents such as the death of her daughter, which occurred when a 17-year-old boy with an illegal gun fired six shots out of a car window at a crowded sidewalk.

"People like the NRA think that groups like us are against hunters and for completely taking guns away. We are not," Marin said.

The lie-in and the reasoning behinds these groups, Marin explained, is so that proper background checks can be done and loopholes won't allow people who have an agenda or who aren't mentally sound to purchase a firearm.

"We want Congress to close this loophole that allows people to go to a gun show and legally purchase firearms with no Brady background check," Marin said.

Gloria Frankson, a sophomore at UNH, said she came to the lie-in to show her support.

"I have always been really interested in current events and I think that the problem we (as a country) have with guns is a big one," Frankson said. "It is so easy to obtain a gun it's scary."

Marin asked the students to lie down as she read off the names of the 32 students slain at Virginia Tech. She also mentioned the Northern Illinois University shooting and asked if anyone knew anyone who had fallen victim to gun violence. Lastly, she mentioned her daughter. "We're here to honor the victims of Virginia Tech," Marin said. "Tech showed us that these things could happen anywhere. It was especially important for me to come here today where my daughter was a student."

Marin has organized a walk at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Oak Street Beach Park in West Haven. Registration is at 9:30 a.m. Proceeds will go directly to the Jessica N. Santos Memorial Scholarship, for a student pursuing a degree in criminal justice or forensics.

Marin said the times of the lie-ins Wednesday were staggered so it was an entire day of remembrance.

Amanda Howe is a Register intern. The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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