Last Thursday, a student chapter of the organization Amnesty International held a vigil for Renee Good, who was killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis earlier this month.
ICE officer Jonathan Ross shot into Good’s vehicle three times, which federal officials have controversially claimed was an act of self defense. Her death sparked protests and vigils across the country, including at Grand Valley State University.
Amnesty International is a human rights organization with a stated goal to provide education, ask questions and take action to uphold human rights. The candlelight vigil started with words from GVSU Amnesty President Ian McGuckin and Vice President Aeryn Hart. McGuckin highlighted the importance of community, and allowed for a moment of community building among attendees to “honor the spirit of kindness,” which McGuckin said Good stood for.
Following that, Hart read ‘On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs,’ a poem written by Good that won the 2020 Academy of American Poets Prize. Hart said the content of the poem, which talked about ridding away wonder, mystery and humanity is happening to Good’s memory in real time.
“The same violence she wrote about, the stripping away of humanity, has been inflicted on her memory,” said Hart.
McGuckin acknowledged the importance of creating opportunities where people can express their thoughts and feelings about incidents such as this.
“With the speed at which the news cycle rotates and turns over, it’s important to take space and take time to honor the atrocities and tragedies that are happening in this country,” McGuckin said.
This is something which Aislinn Vandommelen, membership officer of Amnesty International’s GVSU student chapter, also believes is necessary.
“I think it can be easy to feel (hopeless) but it’s important to try and channel our feelings of anger and despair into something more productive,” Vandommelen said.
Some in attendance viewed the vigil as a form of defiance against current events in the United States.
“As we’re seeing ICE operations increase across Minneapolis and the rest of the United States, it’s important that we are outspoken and resist those violent actions and the murder of civilians,” McGuckin said. “It’s important to resist because we want to protect ourselves, our community and country.”
The vigil closed with a call to action for those passionate about preventing ICE operations from taking place on the University’s campuses. The group shared a template email for students and community members to send to University President Philomena Mantella regarding the matter. McGuckin explained the University needs to have a “cohesive security plan” that is communicated to both staff and students to prevent events similar to what happened in Minneapolis from happening.
McGuckin concluded by emphasizing the necessity of building community and remaining hopeful.
“We need to know that here and at GVSU, our administration and police department have an active, explicit policy against cooperating with ICE,” McGuckin said. “Hope is the foundation of resistance, to be able to look our country in the face and say with certainty that we can and we will do better. Never let that hope be extinguished.”
