Vigil for Johanna Justin-Jinich

A message from Wesleyan's President Michael Roth, sent to alumni last night:

Tomorrow at 1 p.m., two days after the shooting that took the life of Johanna Justin-Jinich, Wesleyan will hold a brief memorial vigil in the Huss Courtyard behind the Usdan Center. There will be time for Johanna's friends and family to plan other ceremonies at Wesleyan, and perhaps elsewhere. But tomorrow we will gather just to be with one another and remember. We will pay our respects to Johanna's all-too-brief life.

We will gather now because we need to, because it is right to do so, and because we feel it is safe enough to do so. There is now a much more robust police presence on the Wesleyan campus, and we will retain that presence as long as necessary.

We will come together tomorrow at 1 PM in compassionate solidarity with one another, and in remembrance of Johanna. As members of the Wesleyan family, you will be with us in spirit, no matter how far away you are from Middletown.

Yours truly,

Michael Roth '78

Since news broke last night that the shooter turned himself into Meriden police, the Wesleyan community and the family and friends of Johanna Justin-Jinich still mourn, and will continue to mourn, this terrible loss. I hope that with the shooter now in custody, those in Middletown and elsewhere can grieve without fear and with thoughts of Johanna's life - not those of her last moments - in their hearts and minds.

My thoughts and prayers are with them all today.