Ireland mourns the victims of a deadly balcony collapse in California as the public lashes out against negative attention to the visa program in which the students participated
- A memorial service was held on the campus of the University of California, Davis, for the six Irish students who died in Berkeley, while another seven remain injured.
- Outrage has mounted as the construction company responsible for the structure was revealed to have settled a lawsuit for improper balcony construction two years ago.
- There has been significant backlash against a New York Times piece run following the tragedy drawing attention to negative incidents involving Irish students visiting the U.S. under the J-1, a visa for cultural exchange programs.
“The reaction to the tragedy showed the solidarity of Irish people when adverse events occurred. …We’ve always had this in Ireland; people understand adversity, they understand death, they understand people being taken away.”
More on this story at The Guardian.
(Image Credit: Niall Carson/PA, via The Guardian)
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