Correction appended: An earlier version of this article misidentified the LSA junior, who reached out to MESA. Her name is Ghida Dagher.

Students and faculty — including University President Mary Sue Coleman — gathered in the Diag last night for an intimate candlelight vigil to sympathize with the victims and survivors of the earthquake in Haiti.

About 100 people took part in the vigil, which was sponsored by the Michigan Haiti Earthquake Action Relief Team (M-HEART), U-M Haiti Relief, and the Division of Student Affairs. The event featured music, speakers, and information about ways for students to get involved with the relief efforts in Haiti.

Additionally, counselors from Counseling and Psychological Services were on hand to provide assistance and answer questions from students about the catastrophic earthquake. The 7.0-magnitude earthquake, which struck Haiti on Jan. 12, has already claimed an estimated 150,000 lives, according to the latest reports from the ravaged country.

But before the event had even begun, about 15 people gathered on the Diag, forming a circle to sing and offer a prayer for the people of Haiti and those affected by the recent disaster.

As more people gathered, candles were passed out while music continued to play in the background. Then, the vigil began with a brief PowerPoint presentation recapping the events and aftermath of the earthquake.

Following the presentation, which included resources on how students could get involved with the Haiti relief efforts on campus, President Mary Sue Coleman addressed the crowd that had come to pay respects to those affected by the devastating earthquake.

Coleman told those at the vigil that though the current aid efforts are vital, it is important for them to remember that aid will be needed in the long term, too.

“Our challenge in the future is going to be not to forget when Haiti is no longer on the front page of the newspaper, and we don’t see it on the news every night, that we are still willing to give money because it is going to take a long time to rebuild,” Coleman said.

Following Coleman’s speech, Associate Prof. Emeritus Ruth Barnard from the School of Nursing and Armando Matiz, a researcher and lecturer from the School of Public Health, spoke to the crowd — addressing the importance of finding ways to assist with the rebuilding efforts.

And while those gathered fought to keep their candles lit in last night’s windy weather, Kinesiology senior Walter Lacy closed the gathering with a passionate spoken word response to the tragedy in Haiti.

Once Lacy had finished, the crowd stood silent, observing a moment of silence for those killed in the tragedy.

And despite the uncooperative weather that made it difficult to hear the speakers at the event, participants at the vigil voiced their desire to help the devastated country.

“I wanted to go to Haiti until I realized that it wouldn’t be the most effective way to contribute, but that helping any way I can through the vigil and through other ways on campus would be much appreciated,” said Nursing freshman Emily Diepenhorst.

The Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs formed M-HEART, which led the coordination efforts for the planning of the vigil, days after the earthquake struck in order to unify the entire campus’ efforts to assist with the devastation. MESA formed the coalition after multiple student organizations reached out demonstrating their interest in offering aid to the country.

“M-HEART is a student-led organization determined to make an impact in any way possible to the relief efforts,” MESA Intercultural Development Program Director Linh Nguyen said.