Candlelight vigil honors Laura Wallen, who students say ‘made every person feel special’
September 15, 2017 by admin
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Candles, flowers and fond memories helped students of Howard County teacher Laura Wallen honor her memory Thursday night during a candlelight vigil outside Murray Hill Middle School in Laurel.
A gathering of a few hundred students, parents and school staff quietly gathered around 7:30 p.m. outside the middle school’s front doors, where a large poster board declared, “We love you, Ms. Wallen,” and was covered with pictures, hearts and emotional messages to the former middle school teacher.
Wallen, a 31-year-old social studies teacher at Wilde Lake High School, was found dead Wednesday in a shallow grave in a secluded field in Damascus, Montgomery County police said. Her boyfriend, Tyler Tessier — who police say was a suspect early in the investigation — was charged with her murder.
Tessier was denied bond Thursday afternoon in Rockville District Court.
Students took turns placing and lighting white tealight candles along the brick windowsills, the flames flickering off their faces. Tears were shed and stories were shared, and many students said they would never forget the beloved teacher.
Atholton High School seniors Brian Mouafo, Brittany Dunsmore and Tristan Rhodovi, all 17, said they decided to organize the vigil to remember Wallen as the “upbeat, friendly” teacher she was inside and outside the classroom.
Wallen taught the three students history when they were in seventh grade at Murray Hill Middle.
“We really loved her as a teacher,” Brian said. “We wanted to do something small, like getting flowers and lighting candles at the school where she taught us. She wanted you to be involved and happy all the time; she didn’t want you to be sad or left out or alone.”
Brittany said Wallen was “the most positive person” every day.
“She was a friend first, teacher second,” she said. “She meant the world to me and she really established a lot of emotional connections with everyone that made them comfortable to be around her.”
Nearby, 15-year-old Julia Zhang, a junior at Reservoir High, wiped tears away while listening to other students share their memories of Wallen. Julia said Wallen, who also taught her at Murray Hill Middle, was supportive when Julia was having a bad day.
“For me, personally, she helped me through some tough times,” Julia said. “Even after I graduated, she didn’t forget about me. She still sent me emails and asked if I was OK.”
Wallen was involved in the middle school’s drama program, said Faith Chisholm, a 17-year-old senior at Atholton High. Faith and her friend, Shelby Lechner, a 15-year-old sophomore at Atholton, wore shirts from previous middle school productions, “Aladdin” and “Into the Woods.”
Faith said Wallen “made every person feel special,” even going as far as making a necklace as a gift for Faith’s bat mitzvah.
“She loved to make jewelry. We had a craft club with her,” Faith said. “She was always involved in our lives. It wasn’t just a teacher relationship; she cared about you as a person outside of school.”
“I never had her as a teacher,” Shelby added, “but she always texted me before my sports competitions to say, ‘Good luck.’ ”
Kathy Hersey, the band teacher at Murray Hill Middle, said she had worked with Wallen since Wallen started teaching.
“When she left here, she told the principal, ‘I want to come back and help Kathy with drama,’” Hersey said. “This would’ve been her fifth year. Teaching was her life. She was born to be a teacher. She did everything she could for kids.”
Wallen, who was four months pregnant, was reported missing Sept. 5 after escalating concerns from her family, and missing the first day of school in Howard County Sept. 6 — a day her father, Mark Wallen, said Monday she was preparing for with excitement.
A few hours before Thursday’s vigil, Wilde Lake principal Rick Wilson said students returned to the high school that morning, wearing black and organizing a moment of silence between classes. There was “a huge range of emotions” among staff and students throughout the day, he said.
Wilson said students also spontaneously sang “Amazing Grace” in honor of Wallen.
“I have to give a personal message to our students and let them know how proud I am,” Wilson, said teary-eyed Wednesday afternoon. “They helped us as adults really kind of find a small measure of peace in the news that we learned about late yesterday. Our students are amazingly resilient. They gave us hope when we felt helpless when we didn’t know what was going on.”
Wilson said Wallen was a talented teacher who looked beyond grades and test scores. She had the ability to connect with her students, he said, and was a teacher many students will never forget.
“She’s one of those special teachers that aims for the heart before she aims for the head,” he said. “She touched so many people in 31 short years. She volunteered to give up lots of time. She’s a very special person.”
The Howard County school system’s crisis team met with “quite a few students” Thursday, Wilson said, and the crisis team will continue supporting students, staff and faculty as long as they’re needed.
“[Students] are already taking their grief and trying to move it in a positive direction in remembrance of Laura,” Wilson said. “Laura had that impact that we can’t just say, ‘Let’s get on to business.’ The goal is normalcy, but it’s going to be awhile before it really is normal here.”
Wilson said he’s been in touch with the Wallen family and is unaware of any funeral arrangements as of Thursday.
Because of Wallen’s death, the school system announced Murray Hill Middle School postponed tonight’s back-to-school night to Thursday, Sept. 28 at 6:30 p.m. All after-school activities for Wilde Lake High were also canceled Thursday.
A GoFundMe page for the Wallen family was started Wednesday with a goal of raising $10,000 for the family and funeral costs. The campaign has garnered donations from 35 people since its creation and raised more than $850 as of Thursday evening.
“Ms. Wallen, thank you for everything,” the GoFundMe page states. “I can only hope and pray that we are able to give back to you even a fraction of what you gave to us.”
Jennifer Pollitt Hill, the executive director of HopeWorks of Howard County, said Thursday that Wallen’s death is “tragic” and an “unfortunate reminder” of the many women who are killed by someone they love and trust.
Formerly called the Domestic Violence Center, HopesWorks provides services to victims of sexual and domestic violence and their families, such as shelter, counseling, advocacy and legal services. The HopeWorks community engagement department also speaks to groups in the area, whether it’s a faith-based community, civic group or school environment.
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UC Berkeley uses ‘extraordinary’ security for Ben Shapiro event tonight
September 15, 2017 by admin
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http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/UC-Berkeley-says-it-s-prepared-to-keep-Ben-12198540.php
Updated 6:08 pm, Thursday, September 14, 2017
Concrete barriers, metal detectors and clusters of police officers were in place Thursday afternoon as UC Berkeley officials prepped for the 7 p.m. appearance of conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro.
Media: Lizzie Johnson
Hundreds of police officers from nine Bay Area counties were stationed and staged in and around UC Berkeley Thursday in an effort to stave off any mayhem before, during and after the appearance of conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro.
Concrete barriers and metal detectors were set up hours before the 7 p.m. event and police vowed low tolerance for violence. At least two people were detained just after 5 p.m. outside the campus gate, where dozens had gathered for a Refuse Fascism rally.
UC spokesman Dan Mogulof said the university has gone through “extraordinary lengths — in some ways unprecedented” so that the event will be a success. About $600,000 will be spent on security, with another $9,000 for internal security provided by the student group, he said.
“New tools, tactics and strategies are being implemented based on important lessons learned last year,” Mogulof said. “We will be confronting anyone wearing masks and abiding by the chancellor’s clear statement that we will not tolerate violence.”
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Protesters against a scheduled speaking appearance by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos on the University of California at Berkeley campus seen on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif. A small group of people with their faces covered broke windows, hurled fireworks at police officers and threw smoke bombs, prompting UC Berkeley officials to cancel Yiannopoulos’s talk Wednesday evening. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Protesters against a scheduled speaking appearance by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos on the University of California at Berkeley campus seen on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif. A small
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Photo: Ben Margot/AP
FILE – In this Feb. 1, 2017 file photo, University of California, Berkeley police guard the building where Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos was to speak. The campus is bracing for a showdown next week, when the conservative provocateur Ann Coulter has vowed to speak in defiance of the university’s wishes. Officials, police and the campus Republicans who invited Coulter, say there are valid concerns for violence in what is being called an ongoing “Battle of Berkeley.” (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)
FILE – In this Feb. 1, 2017 file photo, University of California, Berkeley police guard the building where Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos was to speak. The campus is bracing for a showdown next week,
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Photo: Ben Margot/AP
FILE – In this Feb. 1, 2017 file photo, a fire set by demonstrators protesting a scheduled speaking appearance by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos burns on Sproul Plaza on the University of California, Berkeley campus. UC Berkeley police took a hands-off approach to protesters on the campus last week when violent rioters overtook a largely peaceful protest against a controversial speaker. But that response is being questioned as demonstrators become increasingly hostile and politics are more polarized. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)
FILE – In this Feb. 1, 2017 file photo, a fire set by demonstrators protesting a scheduled speaking appearance by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos burns on Sproul Plaza on the University of California,
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Photo: Ben Margot/AP
A man pulls a piece of metal out of a window as a flare burns inside a Wells Fargo Bank in Berkeley, California on February, 1, 2017. A speech by Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos scheduled at the University of Berkeley was cancelled after demonstrators set fires and threw objects at buildings to protest his appearance. / AFP PHOTO / Josh Edelson (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)
A man pulls a piece of metal out of a window as a flare burns inside a Wells Fargo Bank in Berkeley, California on February, 1, 2017. A speech by Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos scheduled at the University
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Photo: JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images
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Milo Yiannopoulos says he, Steve Bannon, Ann Coulter will speak at UC Berkeley
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UC Berkeley free speech in spotlight over super-tight security plans
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Berkeley loosens police pepper-spraying rules before Thursday’s Ben Shapiro event
Police were quick to tamp down on even minor violations, detaining at least two women just before 5:30 p.m. on Bancroft Avenue — one for allegedly spitting on an officer, one officer said. It wasn’t immediately clear why the other was taken into custody.
They were among dozens of people gathered there to protest the Shapiro event.
Xochitl Johnson, 42, of Oakland, who graduated from UC Berkeley in 1992 and was one of the Refuse Fascism organizers, said Shapiro and other speakers make students rethink their beliefs — and “tamp down” their activism.
“People come out of his speeches and they think he made sense,” Johnson said. “They’re wrapping themselves in the veil of free speech to bludgeon these young people on these campuses with white supremacy, xenophobia, racism and hatred.”
While the protestors had planned to hold a rally on the steps of Sproul Plaza, police barriers kept them off campus.
Huge swaths of campus had been shut down hours ahead of the evening event. About 1,000 tickets were given away for Shapiro’s appearance. Anyone in attendance will need to present a photo ID to enter. About 300 tickets had not been picked up as of Thursday afternoon.
By 3 p.m., concrete barriers were used to closed streets near the south side of campus, with blocks of Telegraph and Bancroft avenue off limits to traffic. Another blockade was set up at the campus entrance while hip-high and weighted down orange plastic barriers controlled foot traffic through Sather Gate, with only ticket holders allowed through the area three hours before the 7 p.m. start time.
By 5:30, hundreds of people had lined up outside Zellerbach Hall hoping to score an extra ticket to the sold-out event.
Timothy Nuss, 22 and a UC Berkeley junior, said he’s a big fan of Shapiro and had been there since 11 a.m.
“I want a ticket to this event really bad,” he said. “It’s unfortunate how ostracized you can get for being anything but left here.”
Knots of police, some with K9s, were scattered on street corners and around Sproul Plaza, where the student union and eateries were already shuttered.
Beyond the immediate area, however, students went about their day, attending classes and carping about homework and the inconvenience of the police presence.
UC Berkeley Police Chief Margo Bennett said police from all nine Bay Area counties had been called in, but she declined to disclose the number of officers that will be on campus.
“We are certainly in a climate and situation that I don’t know Berkeley has ever experienced before,” Bennett said. “It’s rare that you would see this many police officers on our campus. The administration has been totally supportive of the police’s efforts.”
While police said they were fully prepared to keep the situation safe and calm, Bank of America on Telegraph Avenue prepared for the worst, covering ATMs with wood boards.
The two goals for the evening: Safety for all, and a successful completion of the speaking event, she said. The police have no plans to use crowd control methods previously used by city police, like pepper spray and tear gas, she said.
“Pepper spray is not a crowd control technique,” she said. “We don’t have any intentions of using it. We have a list of prohibited items and will have checkpoints to identify those items.”
Roads surrounding UC Berkeley will remain closed until the event is finished.
Lizzie Johnson, Nanette Asimov, Kimberly Veklerov and Jill Tucker are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com; nasimov@sfchronicle.com; kveklerov@sfchronicle.com; jtucker@sfchronicle.com