Creighton University’s Gay Straight Alliance partnered with Creighton University Latino Student Association on Thursday to put on a memorial walk from the Skutt Student Center to Creighton’s Intercultural Center to honor the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. 

The Pulse nightclub shooting occurred in June when a gunman opened fire on one of Orlando’s most popular gay nightclubs — killing 49 people. This was the deadliest mass shooting in recent American history, according to a NPR article titled “3 Hours In Orlando: Piecing Together An Attack And Its Aftermath,” written by Ariel Zambelich and Alyson Hurt.

Creighton’s GSA held the walk in memorial for the victims of the shooting, according to Leo Rosas, a College of Arts and Sciences junior and the GSA president. 

Approximately 20 people attended the event, including students, faculty and staff. 

“It is important we at Creighton show that solidarity, and that we show that we have a community here that is in support of this community,” said Victoria Acosta, the graduate assistant for the Schlegel Center for Service and Justice. 

The participants held a banner with the names of all who were killed as well as a rainbow flag as they walked in silence across Creighton’s campus to the Intercultural Center. 

In June, Creighton University held a memorial service for the victims of the shooting. However, many Creighton students and specifically GSA members were not in Omaha because the memorial was held during Creighton’s summer break. 

An aspect of faith was incorporated into the walk as the Rev. Chris Jorgensen, a pastor and barista at Urban Abbey which is a church and a coffee shop, led the group in prayer as a conclusion to the walk.  

“Like everyone, I was shocked and distraught knowing the rhetoric that even comes from our own churches contributes to violence for the LGBT people,” said Jorgensen. 

The walk ended in Creighton’s Intercultural Center located on the ground level of the Harper Center where the participants reflected on the shooting.