Written By: Elan Waite

A group of around 50 students gathered between West and Ashley Hall Tuesday, armed with potent signs expressing their outrage for the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, as part of a planned protest.

The students involved did not speak, not due to lack of opinion, but by choice. The silence was meant to speak volumes. The silent protest was orchestrated by NAACP president Ashleigh Mansfield, a graduate student studying early childhood education.

“We wanted to do something with police brutality and everything that’s going on,” Mansfield said. “I didn’t want it to be rowdy. I just want to make a statement. This issue has been brought to campus and we are talking about it. We are not being stagnant.”

Citizens everywhere have expressed their feelings toward the series of events that have transpired after Michael Brown, an unarmed teen, was shot and killed in Ferguson, Missouri as of early August.

Participants gathered around Mansfield before the start of the protest to write sayings on the tape and signs. The popular slogan surrounding the controversy, ‘Stop, don’t shoot,’ appeared on that tape that covered a few of the participants’ mouths.

Once they assembled in the two lines they stood still and waited, looking straight forward.

Students walking through the daunting display of civil disobedience seemed intrigued, astounded and, at times, intimidated.

Jenae Newell, an undecided sophomore, said at first she thought the protest was weird, but after learning the protest’s purpose, she was supportive of it.

“It’s a strong protest – definitely catches my attention,” Newell said.

The goal of the protest was to get students to stop and join in the lines, according to Mansfield. One student did just that after coming out of her class in West Hall. Shikari Martin, an undecided sophomore, seemed interested in the protest as soon as she saw the protesters.

“I saw it and I realized what it was for and it’s an issue that really hit close to home,” Martin said. “I didn’t have anything else to do so why not join in on something I feel strongly about.”

Members involved with the silent protest shared a mutual respect for the cause. Once the silence was broken students began to discuss how they felt it turned out.

“It’s a good cause,” Briah Manuel, senior exercise physiology major, said. “A lot of people really don’t know what’s going on and this is a good way to get people to start asking questions.”

The protest ended with Mansfield thanking everyone involved and posing for one last picture with her cabinet members.

“It went great and I am so happy,” Mansfield said. “It exceeded my expectations.”