By TAZIA MACHL

A spirit of unity in spite of grief filled the air on October 9, when members of the Beloit student body came to commemorate the life of Jaahnavi Kandula. “Unlimited value,” was the term many Beloit students used to describe Kandula, an Indian graduate student killed by a policeman earlier this year.

Jaahnavi Kandula was a graduate student at Northeastern University’s Seattle campus, set to graduate with a master’s degree in Information Systems later on this year. An Indian immigrant, her ambitious nature was fueled by a selfless motivation to help her struggling single mother in India. Yet the 23-year-old’s life was cut tragically short on January 23, 2023, when a police officer driving 74 miles an hour hit her as she was trying to travel through the crosswalk. 

The officer, Kevin Dave, was responding to a high priority call driving nearly 50 miles over the speed limit without a continuous siren. As a consequence, a promising young woman and beloved member of the Seattle community was killed. 

Months later, on September 11, 2023, the Seattle Police Department released body camera footage of officer Daniel Auderer, joking about Kandula’s death on a phone call with police union president Mike Solan. Solan said that as Kandula’s life had “limited value,” being an Indian immigrant, the city could “just write a check for 11,000.”

The college’s candlelight vigil saw numerous members of the Indian community outraged by the Seattle Police Department’s actions, citing it as an example of ongoing police negligence and discrimination against Indian populations in the United States. 

The vigil began at The Wall, where students created signs and laid down flowers for Kandula. Many student-made signs called for police reform, with a focus on accountability. Others wrote a simple yet moving statement: “Jaahnavi Lived!” The purpose of the vigil was not only to celebrate Kandula’s life, but to raise awareness about the tragic nature of her death. 

The vigil continued with a silent, candlelit procession to the Vigil. Afterwards, members of the Beloit community came up to speak up against Kandula’s death. 

In his speech, student body president Abhey Singh Guram’24, said that the incident called for a “pressing need for change within law enforcement.”

“We must try for a world where every life has value, not just certain groups,” he said.

In a speech by Students for an Inclusive Campus’s program coordinator, Joya Saxena’25, concerns were raised regarding the importance of Kandula’s race in the Seattle Police Department’s treatment of her death. 

Saxena said that Indian students are victims of discrimination and stereotyping at very high frequencies—yet this oppression is seldom discussed by America’s media and schools. “Indian immigrants are the “golden children in the dysfunctional family that America is,” Saxena said. “This notion of who is deserving of value is despicable. She may have been a statistic for the news, but she was a member of our community.” 

The idea that Kandula’s death was ignored by media groups as well as under-discussion in universities because of her race was one frequently expressed throughout the vigil. Lena Wood, who grew up in Washington, said that “Black Lives Matter was a prime focus in Seattle, but education regarding discrimination against other races was never really offered.” 

Questions were also raised regarding Beloit College’s conduct of Kandula’s death. Saxena, calling the Dean of Students Office’s emailed letter regarding the incident an act of “performative activism,” stated an urgent need for the school to take “true action and help the Indian community.” 

“If Kandula was not an Indian woman,” Saxena said, “a statement would have come sooner.” 

Ultimately, the vigil’s turnout proved the strength of Beloit’s Indian community, as well as their allies. In a time of great tragedy, empathy and perseverance were present within every attendee. 

Daksha Howard, Beloit’s program coordinator for residential life, expressed the importance of community turnout.  “Together, our united presence is what will lead to change.”