They walked in silence through campus with stickers on their shirts that read, “Never forget.”
The footsteps of 40 students walking past Hepner Hall and Love Library were the loudest sounds amongst participants in the We Walk to Remember event Tuesday, April 12.
WW2R is the largest Holocaust remembrance program conducted in over 130 college campuses.
Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity and the San Diego State University Hillel San Diego Center organized the walk.
Matthew Levitt president of the fraternity and marketing junior said that because AEPi is a Jewish fraternity holding the event with Hillel would be a good opportunity to join both the organizations.
Levitt said that the main goal was to walk around campus and remind the SDSU community of something that happened a long time ago.
Students began the walk at the Melvin Garb Hillel Center and walked through the major locations on campus.
Psychology sophomore Talia Raoufpur participated in the walk because she believes that it’s important to keep the memories of Holocaust survivors alive.
“It’s simple yet it makes a statement seeing a large group of people walking together in unison shows that there are people who are standing strong for a cause,” she said.
“I’d like for students to understand that the Holocaust although it happened years and years ago the effects are still being felt by those who unfortunately did experience it and those who did not,” Raoufpur said.
Gal Winrebe, Jewish agency Israel fellow for Hillel at SDSU said that to him “Never forget” is something he relates to the Holocaust.
Both of his grandparents were survivors of the Holocaust but he did not have the opportunity to talk to them about their experiences he said.
“They didn’t want to tell us and we were afraid to ask,” he said.
When asked if they knew a holocaust survivor or knew of one several of the participants raised their hands.
Levitt said his grandparents were in the army during World War II and knows people with family members who were in concentration camps.
“It’s important for me that we remember that and we don’t take for granted our luck and good fortune today because a lot of people gave a lot for us to be where we are today,” Levitt said.
Participants handed students walking by pamphlets that explained their reason for doing the remembrance walk.
Winrebe said that students walking past the group looked at them with confusion and asked questions.
“You can see in their eyes they are trying to understand,” Winrebe said.
He noticed their confusion and then by being handed a pamphlet they were able to get an answer.
Business management sophomore David Shadi said he was happy that they got a lot of attention during the walk.
The remembrance walk is an annual event nationally sponsored by AEPi and B’nai B’rith International.
“The most important thing to do is to at least have one day in the year where you stop everything in order to remember the horrors where we came from,” Winrebe said.
