The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center held a candlelight vigil at the Alma Mater Wednesday night to remember youth lost to suicide nationally in recent weeks.

“The recent string of highly publicized youth and young adult suicides has deeply saddened the University of Illinois LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning) and Ally community,” according to the resource center’s website.

Leslie Morrow, director of the resource center, said LGBTQ community members have been very supportive of each other through the crisis.

“They’ve been very helpful in wanting to get together with folks to talk about it,” Morrow said. “We’re here as a safe haven.”

Morrow said the vigil was to honor the victims and to celebrate their beliefs.

“It’s a way to embrace who we are,” Morrow said.

The LGBT Resource Center offers assistance to students, where they are welcome to speak with a staff member.

Names and ages of the youth and young adults lost were read aloud at the vigil. Some students also wore tombstones, which represented each person who had taken his or her own life.

Along with University students, members of the LGBTQ community and their allies — an outreach network of students and faculty members — showed their support at the vigil.

Kevin Ng, sophomore in AHS, said he hopes the vigil will promote awareness throughout society.

“Hopefully it promotes a call to action,” Ng said. “I had to (be here to) honor those who have committed suicide.”

During the vigil, students and members of Registered Student Organizations were invited to share their thoughts on the recent suicides and offer words of encouragement.

Morrow said the community at the University had to do something as a sign of unity.

“I think Rutgers (The State University of New Jersey) was probably the first school that had the most watched vigil with all the events,” Morrow said. “As a sign of solidarity and support, we’re going to do the same.”

A recent string of suicides, such as Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, have sparked an outcry of emotion across the nation.

But this is not something that affects only a certain area, said William Blanchard, president of PRIDE, an RSO which serves the LGBTQ community through political activism, educational awareness and social events.

“This is not an incident occurring just at Rutgers or down in Arizona. This is an incident occurring here in Champaign too,” Blanchard said.

The Global School-Based Student Health Survey, which was developed by the World Health Organization, reported in a study conducted between 2003 and 2006 that 34 percent of students who have been bullied said they felt sad and hopeless for two or more weeks.

“There’s a lot of bullying going on, and some people think it’s harmless. Words are powerful, and they can hurt. They can attack,” Morrow said.