At noon on Tuesday they came from every area in the HUB Robeson Center. The coalition of 80 students, dressed in black from head to toe, convened at the bottom of the building’s central staircase. They took a few minutes to spread out; pausing as they looked north. And then at 12:35 each student dropped. There, they laid lifeless for 45 minutes.
Students die in at initial HUB protest.
Students at Penn State University participated in die-ins from Tuesday to Friday to protest the unjust treatment of African Americans at the hands of law enforcement. The protests consumed national headlines as people lined up from Oakland to New York to demonstrate nonviolently. Protests were prompted by the killing of unarmed Ferguson, Missouri teen Michael Brown at the hands of a white police officer. The case ended in an non-indictment of the police officer.
A group of multi-cultural student organizations gathered Monday night to plan the protests after hearing news of the non-indictment. Student leaders from NAACP, Multicultural Women’s Forum, Black Caucus and several others led the charge alongside faculty members of the Paul Robeson Cultural Center. In the early stages of the protests, student leaders made signs reading “black lives matter”. They also advertised the protests through social media; inviting all to join.
John Gelin, a senior studying criminology, was glad students took initiative to protest inequities in the American system. “I felt proud. Although I couldn’t make it to the protests because of class I felt that these protests were made with good intentions.” He added, ” I think they served to help provide awareness for things that people don’t think about on a daily basis. Hopefully it opens dialogue and engenders solidarity for race relations.”
Student Brandi Wesley holds sign in protest.
Students held die-ins throughout the week at Old Main, the Paterno-Pattee Library, and the HUB again on Friday. Each week the coalition gathered more students. On Friday, students handed out statistics about racial injustice to onlookers. The numbers are sobering upon reading. According to the ACLU African Americans and Latinos are more likely to be stopped and frisked in New York by police officers than whites. The ACLU 80% of stops are made on people of color compared to a mere 8% of white recipients. The US Sentencing Commission found that “African Americans receive 10% longer sentences than whites through the federal system for the same crime”.
“It’s clear that people of color are disproportionately arrested and targeted by police in America, ” said senior supply chain management major Devon Porter. He added, “There’s a systemic problem. It’s bigger than Ferguson or the chokehold in New York. I’m speaking up because things are unjust. It affects millions of people of color.”
Penn State president Eric Barron showed solidarity with the group of students protesting police brutality during the die-in on Wednesday on the steps of Old Main. The president posed with several students posing in the “hands up” gesture.
Penn State president Eric Barron stands in solidarity with students.
Barron issued a statement after drawing criticism from a Pennsylvania state legislator. The president explained in statement, “Our students faced this dilemma – even when confronted by hate language posted anonymously to social media sites – with a thoughtful and peaceful process that demonstrated their concerns. My sole purpose was to show my support and solidarity for the students involved.”
The issue of police brutality and systemic racism as a whole is a tough subject in the American lexicon. Ignorance and lack of education have stifled many talks that could have otherwise been open. However a large segment of Penn State students will continue to strive for awareness and open discussion on the matter in the face of adversity.