"I don't know if the speech captured why we came here exactly," one student yelled out from the crowd. "I'd like to spend a little more time trying to bear witness to what's happening in Kosovo."
He then led the crowd in a spontaneous round of "We Shall Overcome."
But not all voices were unanimous in their support of the vigil's purpose. Some felt that the vigil did not address the most important question about Kosovo--what ought to be done now.
Holding a sign saying "U.S./NATO, Hands off the Balkans!" and handing out leaflets condemning NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia, Cambridge activist George Bryant said the vigil should have questioned the legitimacy of NATO's actions.
"The real question [that we should be addressing] is, is the U.S. doing this for human rights, or are they preying on suffering peoples?" Bryant said.
Many of those who attended the discussion in Ticknor Lounge following the vigil agreed with Bryant that there ought to have been more discussion of the West's policy in Kosovo.
"I think it's very important to do relief work... but I was expecting that there is some common mind [on the issue]," said one woman. "What do we think about NATO's involvement?"