Somber and tearful faces were prevalent at Old Main Friday as about 100 people gathered to mourn the deaths of the victims of the Beslan siege that occurred in Russia two weeks ago.

Supporters, some who adorned T-shirts bearing the words "Help Children," observed a moment of silence for the victims and many held signs encouraging people to join the vigil.

Many onlookers accepted an invitation to make speeches of condolence to the crowd and cited the incident as an "emotional rape of humanity."

"The most important thing we can do is to help those who are in a deep depression and confusion," Alexander Zolotov (graduate-architectural engineering) said. "These people need a lot of moral help and that is what we are trying to accomplish."

Thirty-two armed terrorists stormed School No. 1 in Beslan, Russia and took children hostage Sept. 1, which was the first day of the school year.

More than 1,000 children, relatives and teachers were held hostage as Russian Special Forces worked to free them from the terrorists, Zolotov said.

Zolotov said as the siege ended and medical personnel were allowed into the gymnasium, bombs exploded inside the building, collapsing the roof on the children below.

He added that although the official death toll in Beslan is currently 336 civilians, there are still 200 missing people. About half of the casualties were children, Zolotov said.

Though the majority of the crowd was of Russian descent, there were other groups gathered at Old Main as well, including the Turkish Association for Secularism and Kemalism and the Muslim Student Association.

Zolotov said the Russian Club organized the vigil and added that it was a long and arduous process.

"It took about two weeks to organize," Irina Mushiyakh, club president, said. "There was a lot of bureaucracy involved."

Zolotov said the club provided T-shirts at no cost.

"We received no funding at all," Vitaliy Solovyev, vice president, said. "[Zolotov] put down the money for the promotional T-shirts."

Additional T-shirts will be sold to make money for the Beslan fund to support the survivors, Solovyev said.

The group is also planning other events of remembrance this week.

"We're organizing a fundraising benefit concert," Ayse Dayi (graduate-human development and family studies) said. "It will include local musicians and a couple of international musicians as well."

The concert will be held at Webster's Bookstore Café, 128 South Allen St., on Sept. 20. The café will also donate a percentage of the sales that evening to the Beslan fund. For donation information: www.noterror.fromru.com