Students, faculty and staff carried flowers, notes and tributes across campus to preserve Juniper Blessing’s memorial through September.
SEATTLE — Flowers, handwritten notes and messages of love have filled a part of Red Square for weeks following the death of University of Washington student Juniper Blessing.
On Monday, students, faculty, staff and community members gathered to ensure those tributes would not disappear.
Participants took part in an honor walk across campus, carrying pieces of the memorial from Red Square to Mary Gates Hall, where it will remain through September as a place for reflection and remembrance.
The start of Pride Month made the timing especially meaningful for some students.
“It’s the start of Pride Month and I think it’s the perfect time to do this walk,” said UW student Job Albeerg. “Given everything that’s happening in the world right now, it’s important that we still have these events to show that we are here and not going anywhere.”
Blessing, 19, was killed last month in a violent attack at her off-campus apartment. In the weeks since, students have left flowers, flags, cards and personal messages in her memory.
For Albeerg, preserving the memorial was important.
“I was happy to hear it was permanent because I was hearing some things online of attempted clean up and stuff, tearing it down that I was not on board with, so I’m glad it’s going to be in a more permanent place,” he said.
While he said he would have liked to see the memorial remain visible in Red Square during Pride Month, he understands the decision to move it indoors.
“I wish it would remain here because it’s so visible at least for Pride Month, but I understand moving it to a permanent place where it will stay up,” Albeerg said.
The walk from Red Square to Mary Gates Hall was quiet and emotional as participants carried flowers and tributes through campus.
Albeerg described his initial reaction to Blessing’s death as “rage” and said many students are still processing what happened.
“I have never felt threatened by my fellow students,” he said. “The outpouring of love for Juniper has been impressive and I’m glad a lot of my professors have taken time out of their classes to talk about it.”
University organizers say the memorial inside Mary Gates Hall will remain in place through September, giving students, staff and visitors a dedicated place to remember Blessing.
“It is good that we are reacting in this way, but it feels like we can always do better,” Albeerg said.
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