Students, administrators, faculty and area residents filled the Bucknell University Academic Quad in Lewisburg, Pa., Tuesday night for an emotional Solidarity Ceremony intended to raise awareness of the toll on people who are discriminated against because of their race or sexual orientation.

LEWISBURG, Pa. — In the wake of a racially charged incident involving campus radio disc jockeys, thousands of students, administrators, faculty and area residents filled the Bucknell University Academic Quad on Tuesday night for an emotional Solidarity Ceremony intended to raise awareness of the toll of discrimination.

Last month, three WVBU DJs were suspended and later expelled for using violent language and making racist remarks on air during a campus radio broadcast that captured national attention. Tuesday, student speakers at the ceremony noted that issues of discrimination already existed on campus among some individuals — and certainly in society in general. One by one, the speakers took the stand, sharing gut-wrenching stories of their personal fears when confronted by others because of who they are or what they look like.

“I came here today not knowing what to expect,” said Denise Sullivan, a resident of the area. “I’m not a student, but I wanted to show support for the idea of equality and diversity.”

Carolina Cormack, a senior, said “students who do not fit the ‘Bucknell mold’ are often made to feel uncomfortable.”

Two friends of Turner Stulting, a transgender student at Bucknell, had many in the crowd almost in tears. The friends read a speech written by Stulting, who had seen an online posting by someone saying “I hope you die.”

That made Louis Dyer, an African American from Milton, angry. “No one … certainly not a student, should ever have to live day to day wondering if a classmate wrote that.”

Stulting’s friends continued reading the speech: “I don’t feel safe telling my story. I’ve been threatened. There is a person out there who wants me dead. I should feel safe here, but I don’t. Even before the radio incident, Bucknell University had a problem with discrimination.”

Story after story opened eyes, and served as a kind of emotional bloodletting.

“This is a start tonight,” Sullivan said, “of a dialogue we all have to have. We have to look in the mirror and say ‘No. No more racist jokes. No more condescending. We need to respect and even celebrate our differences.’”

The Sunbury (Pa.) Daily Item contributed to this story.