Governors State University mourns the loss of Jaguar LaNiyah Murphy
The Governors State University community is deeply saddened by the tragic death of one of our own, freshman LaNiyah Murphy, who lost her life to yet another act of senseless gun violence on Tuesday night in the city of Chicago. According to the Chicago Police Department, the city ended 2021 with 797 homicides and 3,561 shooting incidents. It was the deadliest year in a quarter century.
2022 continues this harrowing trend with the death of LaNiyah, who had barely begun her life’s journey. Yet she left an indelible mark on our community.
Previously assaulted by gun violence, LaNiyah refused to be a victim. Instead, she joined B.R.A.V.E., Bold Resistance Against Violence Everywhere. As a passionate promoter of peace and an outspoken anti-gun violence advocate, she took the group’s message to audiences around the nation, including Capitol Hill, as well as the campus of Purdue University.
At Governors State University, LaNiyah was a strong student and a rising star who surely would have found her voice with the university’s new Social Justice Initiative. The initiative addresses the societal deficits which birthed the inhumanity that stole LaNiyah from the world.
In Australia, the name LaNiyah means a light that is found within. In just 20 short years, LaNiyah found her light and let it shine for us all. She is no longer with us but her passion and spirit will live on forever. The thoughts and prayers of the entire Governors State University Jaguar family are with LaNiyah’s loved ones.