A desire to “do something” at the start of the Summer will culminate in a milestone event for social justice thanks to the driving force provided by Augustana senior volleyball player Brett Niederer. Niederer’s leadership and interest in making a difference will come to fruition Thursday, Sept. 24 with the “Vigil for Lost Lives”.
The event is scheduled for Lindberg Stadium and will start at 7 p.m. and run until 9 p.m. Niederer, who has been a member of the Vikings varsity men’s volleyball team since its inception in the 2017-2018 school year, was moved to action due to the events of this past Summer.
“I think this is the right thing to do,” said Niederer, who has seen action in 21 matches (29 games) during his career with the Blue & Gold. “During the summer I got in touch with Jake Washington, who is the president of the Black Student Union and we came up with this idea.”
The event will start with a candlelight vigil and the first speaker will be Dr. Monica Smith, Augustana’s vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion. Among the student speakers will be Niederer’s teammate Caleb Minnis, Downers Grove South High School, Downers Grove, and football player David Mason, III. Washington will speak as well as Evelyn Aguayo, Joyce Matanguihan and Ashanti Mobley.
“The students at Augustana want to give out a statement,” said Niederer. “This gives all of us the opportunity to do that. We need to be an actual ally for people of color. We can speak up and help.”
One of the themes of the event, according to Niederer, is “Know Justice. Know Peace.”
Minnis, who spoke at a Black Lives Matter event in his hometown of Downers Grove, Illinois this Summer, was glad to step in and help his teammate with the event.
“This is a social justice fight,” said Minnis, who played in 27 matches and 95 sets as a freshman in 2019 with 178 kills and 58 total blocks before sitting out last year due to an injury. “The multicultural programming board has provided us with the tools to present our message and that is what this event is about.”
Niederer said that the plan is for this to be an annual event.
“We don’t want this to be a one-time event,” said Neiderer, who is a pre-medicine major. “Hopefully because of the groundwork that we put down this year that this will be able to become an annual event.”
-Augustana College