ATHENS — University of Georgia students and staff, nursing students from Augusta University and other members of the Athens community somberly filled the Tate Plaza on campus Monday to honor two students who recently died.
Members of Alpha Chi Omega sorority and Kappa Sigma fraternity, many donning pastel-colored shirts from their organizations, stood shoulder to shoulder with nursing students from Augusta’s Athens campus wearing bright blue scrubs for the brief vigil. Many wore ribbons in red and green, the colors of Alpha Chi Omega. The sorority and fraternity helped organize the event.
Hundreds more students and other supporters stood nearby in a show of support, and many in the crowd brought flowers in tribute to their peers.
Laken Riley, 22, was killed Thursday near UGA’s intramural fields while she was on a morning run, police said. Riley attended UGA until spring 2023 and then enrolled in Augusta University’s nursing program. She was a sister of Alpha Chi Omega.
Police arrested Jose Antonio Ibarra and charged him with murder in Riley’s death. Ibarra, 26, is a citizen of Venezuela who lives in Athens and unlawfully entered the country, according to federal authorities. Investigators don’t believe he knew Riley.
A freshman Kappa Sigma student died Wednesday. No foul play is suspected, according to law enforcement. The two deaths are not related. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is not naming the student without his family’s consent.
“We were given these people at this time for a reason,” Alpha Chi Omega President Chloe Mullis said, asking for their peers’ lives to serve as a reminder: “Tell your friends that you love them. Never miss an opportunity for a sweet treat, one of Laken’s favorite pastimes. And scream the lyrics to your favorite song as loud as you can.”
Credit: Nell Carroll
Credit: Nell Carroll
Mullis said Riley was a Christian, friend, student and an “incredible runner.”
“She was devoted to making this world a better place, and we have no doubt she would have been an incredible nurse. It’s absolutely earth-shattering to think the world will never have that opportunity,” Mullis said.
Similarly moving words were said about the other student remembered Monday. Nick Nichols said his fraternity brother was “the life of the party” with an “infectious smile” and someone who made everyone around him “feel safe and welcomed.” Nichols said he’ll miss “vegetating” with his friend on the weekends when they were too tired to do anything else.
He asked the crowd to look out for one another and seek mental health help if the need arises. Alec Stevens, president of the UGA Interfraternity Council, noted that mental health professionals from the university were present for students who may want to consult them.
At the end of the vigil, the crowd lingered as the Greek Life members and Augusta students embraced. The Alpha Chi Omega sisters slowly dispersed, walking in front of Sanford Stadium back to their house on campus.
“Things like this, the vigil, are important because it really allows us to push away the noise and honor the two individuals,” Thomas Chambers, a freshman from Johns Creek and one of the hundreds who gathered in Tate Plaza, said.
He added that processing the students’ deaths has taken time.
“Canceling class on Friday, that was really helpful,” he said after the vigil. “It gave the entire weekend to come down. It was a bizarre feeling. It’s hard to explain Thursday, just being here. A lot of people left and the rest of us were here watching. There’s usually not reporters coming around.”
