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Proudly displaying Hokie colors, students and community members came together Wednesday afternoon in front of Kerckhoff Hall to remember the 32 victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy.

The victims were the students and faculty members who had their lives cut short by Seung-Hui Cho in the worst mass shooting in recent history on April 16, 2007.

To extend their condolences and honor the victims, the undergraduate student government internal vice president’s office, Latino fraternity Gamma Zeta Alpha and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence held a ceremony that included speakers and a “lie-in” Wednesday afternoon.

They also unveiled two quilts created by UCLA students that will be sent to Virginia Tech to show support and offer condolences.

Rachel Stauber, a fourth-year business economics major, helped organize the creation of the quilts. Students, faculty and staff decorated each of the individual squares with messages of hope, unity and peace. The two quilts, one outlined with the Virginia Tech colors of maroon and orange, and the other outlined with Bruin blue and gold, are designed to be hung side by side to show unity between the two distant schools.

“It was a yearlong process of putting the quilt together,” Stauber said. “We taught ourselves how to sew and stitch, and it took a lot of practice. Even though Virginia and California are far away, we are connected as students.”

Thousands of miles away, students at Virginia Tech gathered in Blacksburg to remember their friends and teachers. Many openly wept and held hands as they gathered to pay tribute.

“The world was cheated, cheated out of the accomplishments that were sure to come from these extraordinary lives,” Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said during the memorial.

Two trees were planted in front of the honors dormitory Wednesday at Virginia Tech to honor two honors students who were killed. A lie-in was also held to protest Virginia gun laws. It lasted for three minutes, symbolizing the time it takes in Virginia to purchase a gun. Similar lie-ins were held at campuses across the country, including at UCLA.

The lie-in in front of Kerckhoff Hall was organized to bring home the impact of the losses at Virginia Tech. As victims’ names were called out, a bell was rung and a representative for that individual laid on the grass in Meyerhoff Park.

Dianne Tanjuaquio, the internal vice president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council, said she not only wanted the ceremony to remember the victims, but to also bring awareness for gun safety and mental health.

“One beautiful thing came out of this tragedy,” Tanjuaquio said, “We were able to coalesce out of it to prevent gun violence, improve safety and mental health, and remember the tragedy.”

Speakers at the event included members of the Brady Campaign, a grassroots organization that seeks to prevent gun violence. Two police officers also spoke and encouraged students to take advantage of psychological services on campus.

“Everyone was shocked last year,” Tanjuaquio said. “It really hit home, but it’s easy to lose sight of what happened a year later. It can really happen anywhere.”

Three minutes of silence were observed after all the names were called, and participants and observers stood somberly.

Stephanie Rapp, an L.A. resident, attended the remembrance ceremony because she felt the impact of Virginia Tech firsthand. Originally from Washington, D.C., she went to high school with two of the victims. She also said she had an English class with the shooter, Cho.

“Half of the people I knew in high school went to Virginia Tech,” Rapp said. “My mom still teaches there. I can’t be there, and everyone I know is doing something. I wanted to come to show my support.”

With reports from Bruin wire services.