By: Mickaela Sandlin
Middle Tennessee State University lost a student on Monday, an event that impacted the entire campus community.
Serenity Birdsong took her life on Monday afternoon in the James E. Walker Library. Memorials in her honor were set up by the end of the day. MTSU closed campus on October 29th and the James E. Walker Library remained closed until October 31st.
The MTSU community has banded together in the past few days to show its love for their peers.
Birdsong was the Vice President of MT Lambda, an LGBTQIA+ and ally organization on campus.
MT Lambda took to their social media on Tuesday, sharing a statement about Birdsong.
“Serenity was more than an officer to us; many of us considered Serenity our friend, and her ability to light up a room, paired with her wholesome demeanor, made her welcome anywhere, but especially in Lambda where we are burdened by the darkness of existing in a world so often cruel to us. And it is this darkness that snuffed out Serenity’s light.”
On Wednesday, the campus community came together for a vigil hosted by the Student Government Association in honor of Birdsong.
The vigil started at 6 P.M. in the courtyard of the James E. Walker Library, where students covered the entrances to the building with art, posters, flowers, and gifts since Birdsong’s death.
Machai Mosby, the SGA president, gave a speech during the vigil, highlighting the importance of the campus's resources and holding each other close in trying times. Counseling services were scattered around the courtyard, ready with information in hand for students. MTSU has encouraged students to explore counseling options following the death of Birdsong.
MTSU President Sidney McPhee attended the vigil, sharing the impact he knows that Birdsong’s death will continue to have on the campus community. McPhee shared his condolences and encouraged students to continue to grow stronger together through the support that started to outpour from the community.
Mosby told students to support one another during their years at MTSU.
“Serenity’s life serves as a powerful reminder of kindness and connection. Imagine a world where we all live in, a world where we take a moment each day to check in, where a simple act of kindness becomes a daily practice,” Mosby said.
MT Lambda President Elizabeth Cannan-Knight reminisced over their time knowing Serenity during the vigil.
“I want to start by describing who Serenity was, not just the kind of person she was but who she was in the sense of her impact on those around her… She was a committed friend and she truly did care for everyone and those around her in a genuine form of unconditional affection,” Canaan-Knight said.
The vigil focused on supporting one another in hard times. Mosby highlighted his sentiments at the end of the vigil by inviting the student body to sing “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers with him, emphasizing the lyrics “Lean on me, when you’re not strong, and I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on.”
MT Lambda invited students to attend their weekly meeting later in the night, where they hosted a space for grieving and remembering Birdsong. MTSU Counseling Services is open from 8 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. Monday through Friday, located in the Keathley University Center room 326-S.
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