Features Editor
Gunfire and screams filled the Route 91 Festival in Las Vegas on Oct. 1. Melissa Ramirez, a CSU Bakersfield graduate was one of the victims who died in the shooting. President Mitchell, Associated Students Incorporated, and the Counselling Center have released statements following the tragedy. However, students feel anxiety about attending events.
“I feel like since that happened, there’s fear in me now, going to concerts because you never know what to expect. I just feel like I’m scared. what if something happens,” said Julisa Del Toro, 20 and a child development major.
Ramirez graduated from CSUB in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. The Runner attempted to contact the family of Ramirez but received no answer. President Mitchell released a statement regarding her death.
“We are terribly saddened to learn that we lost a member of our CSUB family in this senseless act of violence. Our entire CSUB campus community is heartbroken, and we send our deepest sympathies to Melissa Ramirez’s family and friends.”
The flags at CSUB were lowered to half-staff from Oct. 2 – Oct. 6 in honor of Ramirez’s death and the other victims of the Las Vegas tragedy.
ASI released a statement on Oct. 4 to the CSUB student body offering their condolences and deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Ramirez.
“The loss of a Runner affects our entire community and it’s important that we unite in this time of grief to support the victims and their families. Our hearts go out to all of the other victims and their families from Bakersfield and the surrounding communities who were affected by the horrific events in Las Vegas.”
Another CSUB alumna, Jordanne Barr, was wounded during the shooting. Barr was a Runner golfer who finished 22nd overall at WAC Championships before graduating in 2015.
The athletics department tweeted on Oct. 4, “We have learned that former `Runner golfer Jordanne Barr was among those injured in Las Vegas. We wish her a speedy recovery!”
The Counseling Center has released a statement about the shooting and information to about dealing with anxiety related to mass shootings and acts of terror.
“Sometimes after a widely covered tragedy like the one in Las Vegas, many people begin to feel a vague or increased sense of unease or anxiety. You don’t have to be a direct victim of an event to feel the pain of the event,” said the Counseling Center in their message.
“It just kinda brought back memories that, that’s what it felt like then. And everyone’s fear gets escalated,” said Shiv Gill, an 18 year old biology major. Gill was living in Oak Creek, WI when a mass shooting took place in 2012.
She was even supposed to attend the Sikh temple that day, but was delayed and was not at the location when the shooting took place.
“You never know. So it just kinda makes me want to not go out as much. Like ‘oh what if I go here? Anything can happen.’ Then I just kinda do things at home, and I don’t think it should let people have that much control over somebody’s life. So I try not to do that,” said Gill.
