According to Tawney B. Pearson '01, arts and entertainment chair of the BSA, taking part in the event was an opportunity to help prevent the Holocaust from ever reoccurring.
"It's important that we remember those who died in the Holocaust so that it doesn't happen again," Pearson said.
Similarly, after his reading at 4:15, Epps said he hoped to stress the significance of remembering the Holocaust.
"It's very important to acknowledge this tragedy, lest we forget," he said. "And I want to underscore that it should never happen again."
A theme among those people who read names was realization of how many families were exterminated in the Holocaust.
"To have eight Marcuses in a row often evokes more pain than the abstract term of six million [deaths]," said Bernie Steinberg, executive director of Hillel.
According to Engelman, the magnitude of the atrocity underscored the importance of continuing the reading, despite the inclement weather.
"Six million Jews died [in the Holocaust] and the least we can do is stand in the rain for eight hours," she said. "We always say never again, but the only way to do that is to make sure we don't become desensitized."