Hundreds of students are anticipated to rally Wednesday in protest of the recent violence in Ferguson, Missouri and general social injustice, according to a Facebook page for the event.
Hundreds of students are anticipated to rally Wednesday in protest of the recent violence in Ferguson, Missouri and general social injustice, according to a Facebook page for the event.
Several Ohio University Student Senate members were instrumental in organizing the “#HandsUpWalkOut” protest scheduled to take place Wednesday afternoon.
The organizers are encouraging students to walk out of class at 12:01 p.m. on Wednesday and meet on College Green to march through campus.
One of the protest’s goals is to bring more awareness to the injustices surrounding Mike Brown, a man who was shot and killed in Ferguson Aug. 9. His death led to weeks of protests against perceived police brutality and mistreatment of minorities nationwide.
The rally’s second goal is to highlight race inequality in America.
Ryant Taylor, senate’s LGBTQA Affairs Commissioner, decided to plan the protest after spending a weekend in Ferguson.
“We need to wake people up and sort of intervene in this passivity that people have when certain horrific things happen that we can stop if we just demand some kind of change,” said Taylor, a senior studying creative writing who recently traveled to Ferguson.
Taylor said the event is tied to Hands Up United, an organization to stop police brutality, that is holding a national day of protest Wednesday.
“I think the incident with Mike Brown was something that exploded an area that was having a lot of tension in general, but this is something that is happening all over the country every day,” said Kelli Oliver, senate’s Minority Affairs Commissioner.
Oliver said she wants students to come to end the cycle that persistently continues with people of minority groups.
“Being profiled is something people of color can’t break away from,” Oliver said. While students do not have the option to choose to be racially profiled, “you do have the option to walk out of class and show solidarity — it’s not that big of a sacrifice.”
Another student involved in the creation of the event, Olivia Wallace, also recently went to Ferguson. Wallace previously worked for The Post.
“A lot of my friends already know about this issue and understand its implications, but I really wanted to incorporate students that might not necessarily understand this issue fully or understand the severity,” said Wallace, chair of senate’s Environmental Committee and a junior studying visual anthropology.
Wallace doesn’t believe police brutality will lessen unless people continue to talk about the topic.
“I feel like Mike Brown was everybody’s brother … Mike Brown was a part of America and he is a part of American history and it’s important that we know what happened,” said Jasmine-Renee Riley, senate’s Black Affairs Commissioner.
Anyone interested in learning more information about #HandsUpWalkOut can visit the Facebook page titled “#HandsUpWalkOut”
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