How Laken Riley’s death sent “a reality shock” through the college town of Athens, Georgia

May Be Interested In:Omnicom to buy Interpublic, creating ad agency giant with nearly $26 billion in annual revenue


Just two blocks from the University of Georgia campus, in a downtown courtroom in Athens, Georgia, Jose Ibarra is on trial for the murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley, a former UGA student who transferred to the nursing program at Augusta University’s Athens campus.

In late February, Riley was attacked during her morning jog on a trail near the University of Georgia’s intramural fields. As the investigation and trial unfolded, members of the Athens community grappled with a shaken sense of security.

“Just because we’re on campus doesn’t mean, necessarily, that the bad parts of the world can’t get in,” said Allison Mawn, a fourth-year student. “She did everything right. She told friends where she was going, she went on a popular trail during the day. She had her tracking location on. She even managed to call for help, and still it wasn’t enough.”

The case was thrust into the national spotlight when authorities arrested Ibarra, an undocumented Venezuelan immigrant who entered the country two years ago, and charged him with murdering Riley. In the midst of the election cycle, her death quickly became a flashpoint in the immigration debate, with former President Donald Trump and his supporters raising it at rallies and President Biden responding to heckling about it in his State of the Union address.

“In an instant, all the eyes across the country are on us,” said Mawn. “Now you can’t say the name Laken Riley without thinking about undocumented immigrants and illegal immigration.”

Trump supporters hold photos of Laken Riley
Trump supporters hold images of Laken Riley at a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia, on March 9, 2024. 

ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images


Students have organized vigils and prayer groups, and participated in protests, rallies and runs in memory of Riley. A GoFundMe set up by her family amassed over $250,000 in donations that will go to the Laken Hope Foundation, an organization that will “promote safety awareness for women, aid and tuition assistance for nursing students, and children’s healthcare… all causes that Laken felt strongly about.”

For many students, Athens no longer feels like the safe haven they once thought it was. To ease fears, University of Georgia President Jere Morehead announced a $7.3 million campus safety initiative. The campus has been fortified by an expanded university police force, hundreds of additional lights and security cameras and multiple emergency call stations and license plate readers.

US-VOTE-POLITICS-GEORGIA
People pass by a memorial to Laken Riley at Lake Allyn Herrick on the campus of the University of Georgia on June 7, 2024, in Athens, Georgia.

ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images


Over the past months, “there was an expectation that we would magnify those efforts,” said P. Daniel Silk, the University of Georgia’s associate vice president for public safety. “We want to be more safe and more secure tomorrow than we were yesterday.”

While the Athens community waits for justice to be delivered, students bustle around campus, walking under the newly installed street lights, passing by additional emergency call systems and easing into a heightened security presence. Classes may go on, but the campus and community are changed.

“Regardless of what the verdict is, unfortunately we still lost a student. We still lost a life and nothing’s gonna change that,” said Mawn. “Things are never going to be a hundred percent the same for any of us here.”

share Share facebook pinterest whatsapp x print

Similar Content

Pope Francis receives first all-electric popemobile from Mercedes
Pope Francis receives first all-electric popemobile from Mercedes
Open: This is
Open: This is
10/10: CBS Evening News
10/10: CBS Evening News
Should you open a home equity loan with inflation rising again?
Should you open a home equity loan with inflation rising again?
Reuters withdraws two articles on anti-doping agency after arranging Masters pass for source
Dozens of fires still burn in US Northeast but California fire is under relative control
11/25: The Daily Report
11/25: The Daily Report

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Eyes on the World: Uncovering Hidden Truths | © 2024 | Daily News