UCLA Students Hold ‘Die-in’ as Part of Ferguson Demonstrations
Given that a black employee of University of California- Los Angeles claims he Was racially profiled by campus police, it must be noted that the campus “die-in” to protest the Ferguson grand jury decision seems to have gone off without any police intervention.
Daily Bruin student reporter Jeong Park files this report:
Several hundred students called for university police to institute a sensitivity training course for all its officers during a protest Tuesday, following a grand jury’s non-indictment of Darren Wilson, a white Ferguson, Mo., police officer who shot and killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.
“After the news was released, I felt a lot of frustration, a lot of anger and defeat,” said Mike Wamungu, a fourth-year sociology student at the protest. “People need to voice their concerns. They need a way to deal with psychological trauma.”
Hundreds of students marched through campus chanting phrases like “no justice, no peace, no racist police” during the protest, which was organized by the Afrikan Student Union. They also hung a banner in front of Royce Hall with the words “Black lives matter” and called for reform of the U.S. criminal justice system.
Nancy Greenstein, university police spokeswoman, said the university police department has said it currently holds mandatory diversity sensitivity training for its office. The university police also works with the Center for Policing Inequity in developing database of racial profiling in law enforcement. In October, former Undergraduate Students Association Council President Devin Murphy met with police and university officials to work on creating an oversight committee that will address concerns about racial profiling.
In front of Meyerhoff Park, students took turns speaking about how they feel the decision is part of a larger problem with America that affects their personal lives and the lives of their family and friends. They mentioned how black individuals make up a much higher proportion of people incarcerated, even though only 13 percent of the U.S. population is black.
The protesters held a “die-in,” lying on the ground in front of Royce to signify how black individuals suffer from what protesters say is racial discrimination by police. Students then drew chalk outlines of other students on the ground, hoping other students will see the drawings and inquire further, said Doete Miller, a fourth-year sociology student.
UCLA students hold ‘die-in,’ moment of silence for Michael Brown (Daily Bruin)
Comments
Mass suicide would make their point better.