About 40 students, faculty and San Luis Obispo residents gathered on Cal Poly’s lawn Friday evening to remember civilians killed in last month’s U.S. airstrike on Iran and others who have died amid unrest in the country. The campus vigil, organized by the Iranian Student Cultural Organization, made the conflict’s human cost immediate for a university community with deep personal ties to Iran.
The vigil began at 6 p.m. on Dexter Lawn, where attendees formed a circle, held candles and placed flowers and an Iranian flag around a small memorial. Organizers said the ceremony honored a range of civilians, including children reportedly killed at an elementary school in Minab.
That particular strike has drawn renewed scrutiny after reporting by the Associated Press that presents strong evidence suggesting U.S. involvement. If the reporting is confirmed, the AP analysis says, the Minab attack would represent the largest civilian toll attributed to U.S. government action in roughly two decades—an assertion that sharpens the stakes for communities far from the front lines.
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Campus reaction and personal accounts
Susanne Eikan, a computer science professor who advises the campus Iranian cultural group, described the vigil as a way to acknowledge loss and to preserve dignity for the victims. She said the gathering offered a measure of calm and a reminder that many of those killed were young people striving for basic rights.
Students attending the event also reported anxiety over relatives back in Iran. Nutrition freshman Sufi Pak said she has been unable to reach family members for two months and described feeling helpless over the uncertainty.
“Community has been the main support,” Pak said, explaining why she attends ISCO events. Several other students said group events and university networks have become essential as they try to process the news and check on relatives overseas.
Foaad Khosmood, a Cal Poly professor and alumnus with extended family in Iran, said his family’s home suffered damage in the strikes. He called for wider awareness of the conflict and described the attacks as unjust and potentially unlawful.
- Who organized: Iranian Student Cultural Organization (ISCO) at Cal Poly.
- When and where: Friday, 6 p.m., Dexter Lawn; roughly 40 attendees.
- Who was remembered: Civilian victims of recent airstrikes, including children and other noncombatants.
- Context: Associated Press reporting has raised questions about U.S. responsibility for a school strike in Minab.
- Local impact: Students and faculty report difficulty contacting family in Iran and damage to relatives’ homes.
The vigil closed with participants placing their candles beside the memorial, a quiet ritual meant to underline the individual lives behind headlines. For many on campus, the event underscored how international developments are not abstract policy debates but immediate personal crises that ripple through diasporic communities.
