Students protest controversial grand jury ruling in Ferguson case
Student voices echoed from the path between the Fabiano Botanical Garden to Anspach Hall Tuesday afternoon.
The student-run group Ferguson to Mount Pleasant, run by junior activist Portia Brown, organized around 50 students in opposition of a Ferguson, Mo. grand jury decision that acquitted police officer Darren Wilson for any crimes related to the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown on August 9.
A friend of Brown and co-organizer of the protest, sophomore Shayna Haynes-Heard, led the crowd after Brown had to leave to attend class. She said the number of people that showed up for today’s protest left her speechless.
“(Brown) actually took a trip to Ferguson awhile back during Ferguson October and she’s really just been pushing (the idea of protesting) since then,” Haynes-Heard said. “We tried a protest not that long ago during Ferguson October and there wasn’t that much of a turn out.”
“Words can’t even describe, I just felt so empowered, I was proud to be at Central,” she said. “After today there’s no doubt in my mind that Central students care and can make a difference.”
The protest was organized virtually overnight after the decision was made public by Brown and friends through Facebook. News of the protest then spread through word of mouth, Haynes-Heard said, which amounted to the number of students which attended.
Many individuals skipped class to show support for Brown and to rally against the grand jury's decision.
Other news organizations turned up at the event, including ABC 12, Channel 5, Channel 34, and USA Today College edition. Leaders from students organizations were also present, including the Vice President of Student Government Association, Mariah Urueta, and President of Transcend, Kai Niezgoda.
Although Urueta was not there on behalf of SGA, President Chuck Mahone did issue a public statement last night concerning the jury decision.
“What happened to Mike Brown was not an isolated incident; these issues are deeply engrained in our history and people are still impacted by them today,” Mahone said. “With that being said, if you have not already, there is no better time than now to start engaging within your local communities, and supporting others to try and create institutional change.”
One of the students present, senior Rachel Harrison, is actually a native of the Ferguson area.
Harrison said she is from a suburb of Ferguson who has friends and family on both the protestor’s side and the side of the police. She described the situation as a frustrating abuse of power by police and a lack of judgment by looting protestors.
“Peaceful protesting is bringing about the awareness for the matter (of police brutality),” Harrison said. “Calling each other names is not what needs to be happening.”
The protest lasted for several hours with students coming and going as classes adjourned. Though many were supportive of the event, several individuals heckled the protestors by shouting derogatory comments.
“The one thing that was really frustrating, even though we had a huge number of people protesting, were the people who walked around (us) or wouldn’t even make eye contact,” Haynes-Heard said. “It’s out duty to do something about (police brutality and institutionalized racism).”
“It is our responsibility to continue this narrative,” Urueta said. “And we won’t stop until justice is served for everyone.”
