Hundreds attend candlelight vigil for Delta State student
“It definitely has affected us mentally and spiritually,” said DSU student
CLEVELAND, Miss. (WLBT) - On Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, students, community members, and friends all gathered at Delta State University for a candlelight vigil to honor a fellow student.
The burning of dozens of candles and the performance of spiritual songs by the university’s choir were the sights and sounds on the green space in the heart of campus to mourn the loss of 21-year-old Demartravion “Trey” Reed.
“We’re just coming together - to mourn together and grieve together,” said Jy’Quon Wallace, DSU junior and one of the organizers of the candlelight vigil.
On Monday, Reed was discovered hanging from a tree near the pickleball courts on campus.
The incident gained national attention with some even providing their own theories as to what may have happened.
After much speculation, the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s office concluded that Reed’s death was a suicide.
“We feel like, if there is no other time to come together, that time is now. There are too many narratives on the internet about what happened. So, we had to come together and make something happen,” Wallace continued.
According to students, this tragedy has taken a toll on many of them.
“It definitely has affected us mentally and spiritually, and we just really are praying for the Reed family first and foremost because that’s devastating news for that family,” said M’Tume Matthews, DSU junior and another organizer of the candlelight vigil.
When it comes to what happened or what led to the incident, there are still more questions than answers.
However, organizers of the candlelight vigil said they want the world to know that, despite the circumstances, when one hurts, all hurt.
“This is to show that he was a student just like us. He was a Statesman just like us. I really want to send this out to his family to let them know that we care just as much as they care and this is not news that anybody wants to wake up and hear,” said Wallace.
Students, faculty, and staff assured they will continue to lend their support to one another during this tragedy, one prayer at a time.
In the meantime, their prayers and thoughts go out to Reed’s family and friends.
Another vigil is scheduled to take place for Reed in Grenada, Mississippi, on Saturday.
It will be held at Grenada High School at 6 p.m. The address is 1875 Fairground Rd.
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