Vigil held for UMass student killed
The UMass Dartmouth sign in memory of Marvins Antoine. Photos by Kat Sheridan
The students hold up candles in Antoine's memory. 
The students hold up candles in Antoine's memory. 
Students write memories they have with Antoine. 
Antoine's mother and chancellor Mark Fuller shake hands. 
Conner Robidoux speaks about Antoine. 
A student writes a memory of Antoine.
The UMass Dartmouth sign in memory of Marvins Antoine. Photos by Kat Sheridan
The students hold up candles in Antoine's memory.
The students hold up candles in Antoine's memory.
Students write memories they have with Antoine.
Antoine's mother and chancellor Mark Fuller shake hands.
Conner Robidoux speaks about Antoine.
A student writes a memory of Antoine.
Hundreds showed up to remember Marvins Antoine, a freshman member of the football team at UMass Dartmouth who was murdered on Saturday, Sept. 19.
“Marvin would have handled every situation that [was] thrown at him, and that’s all we’re asking of you here tonight,” said Conner Robidoux, one of the captains of the football team, “Carry him with you. Keep pushing. Give everything you have, just like Marvin. And if you’re hurting, don’t carry it alone. Accept support. Look out for each other the way he looked out for us. We love you Marvin.”
Kevin Hamilton, the Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Dean of Student Belonging opened the ceremony by introducing who Antoine was. Antoine was a member of the Haitian community and the Asian American Student Association. He encouraged students to not grieve alone.
“Marvins was a student, a teammate, a friend, an engaged member of our campus community, a beloved member of a family, “ said Hamilton, “His life touched people gathered here this evening in different ways and each of us carries our own memories and our own emotions into this space.”
Students, staff and Anotine’s family gathered to remember his life. Robidoux shared memories of Antoine.
Antoine was jersey 26. Robidoux stated that while he was fast and strong, Antoine will be remembered for his smile.
“We asked our teammates to write about Marvins, and almost every one of them wrote about his smile,” he said.
Not every memory was read, but a few were shared. One teammate knew him in high school, when they played football together their senior year. He would drive Antoine home each day, regardless of living on the opposite side of town, supporting each other. Another remembered Antoine pulling him aside during a game, asking that he get an interception. Antoine promised he would be waiting for the play, and he was.
Others remembered when the team had a play quiz, and Antoine forgot his notes. He got called on, and tried his best. He never forgot his notes again.
“Because he went all out, every running back next to him was forced to do the same,” said Robidoux. “He lifted people up. He made everyone around him better.”
He added, “One of our teammates wrote that he’s thankful he got to build a bond with Marvin that will last a lifetime.”
The team captains presented Antoine’s family with his jersey and a football signed by the entire team.
The crowd then lit tea lights in Antoine’s memory, raising them as they took a moment to listen to music and grieve. Matthew Litchfield, Coordinator for the Center of Religious and Spiritual Life, ended the vigil with a prayer.
Those who knew Antoine then went into the library to write down memories of him, which will be given to his family. Many cards were filled out with loving memories of him.
“There are moments which words are not enough. We cannot change what has happened, we can’t choose how we meet one another in the aftermath,” said Heather Quire, the Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Dean of Campus Life. “Community does not mean that we all grieve in the same way, it means that none of us has to grieve alone.”
