To remember and honor the lives lost in the shooting, hundreds of members of the East Lansing and MSU communities gathered outside the Lester and Jewell Morris Hillel Jewish Student Center in a candlelit vigil Monday night.

On Saturday, Oct. 27, an armed gunman ambushed worshipers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA, killing 11 people.

Jordan Robinson, the narrator of the event and a student at MSU, began the vigil by giving his message to the crowd.

While speaking of remembrance and sorrow in light of the shooting, Robinson said, now more than ever, being in strong faith will get everyone through difficult times.

He said this tragedy was felt not only in the Jewish community, but also in every corner of the United States and around the globe.

In Paris, the Eiffel Tower went dark to pay tribute to the 11 people murdered in Pittsburgh. In New York City, the Empire State Building followed suit, turning off the lights in the tower as a show of respect.

With tears in the eyes of many, prayers were spoken, songs were sung and members of the crowd were invited to speak to the audience.

There were also two emotional poems read to the crowd. One read by Katherine Rifiotis, the president of the Associated Students of MSU, and the other read by Eden Sittsamer, the vice president of administration for the Jewish Student Union at MSU.

Rifiotis said it is a necessity for those affiliated with other religions, or even those who don’t practice religion, to speak out against heinous acts.

Sittsamer said speaking in terms of hate, even after a tragedy, only furthers the narrative of separation.

One of the members of the crowd who came forward to speak talked about how African-American and Jewish communities have held together in unity for decades, and how everyone in the African-American community stands in solidarity with those effected by this tragedy.

"We are all part of one human family, and we all wanted to be here to show and to stand in solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters,” they said.

David Mittleman lived in Squirrel Hill and was a member of the Tree of Life synagogue during his youth.

“While Pittsburgh is a big city, Squirrel Hill is a small town, and we all knew each other. All the names of the victims are familiar to me," Mittleman said.

Mittleman’s message was for everyone to unite and to overcome the grief and the darkness.

That message of unity was mirrored by other members of the crowd, including MSU student Kyle Zaback.

Zaback talked about the importance of compassion and acceptance among those in the MSU community, and furthering that unification to everyone around the world.

In light of the shooting, Riley Fisher — a freshman at MSU — said now more than ever people need to band together as a unit and stick up for each other, even if it isn’t someone they would normally associate themselves with.

“The youth in the Jewish community need to start stepping up and, whether it be for the Jewish community or other communities, we need to start trying to make a difference and protecting each other,” Fisher said.