The Reporter

*', ITuCsli «j.--* ivMiu J jinnt|Hi<iMiP<iriw"^i*~rn*n i,l 1 ft %i}rtWfir~ THE Pterisdicsis D-^sit, ml 1 EPORTER Vol. CXXIII Issue 14 Stetson University | DeLand, Fla. Say their names: Violence and racial profiling Stories of police violence Family members share IT Ifc/li yrifc/l cil olv^lowii Reporter photos/Shaylen Vrtale Images from the Feb. 5 candlelight vigil for Trayvon Martin, whose 21st birthday would have occured that day. The vigil was one event hosted by Stetson's chapter of the American Civil Liberties union to address violence towards others based on racial or ethnic profiling, anbd also served as a memorial for Martin, who was 17 at the time of his death in Sanford, a Central Florida community. Campus MovieFest 2016 Social issues and big laughs at Campus MovieFest finale Read a full recap A&E Page 4 Reporter photo/Maeve Coughlin Filmmaker Kitty Geoghan, lef, pictured here with Alec Levine, broke a Campus MovieFest record'by producing 14 films in just one week. Jason Cruz StaffWriter Freddie Gray. Eric Garner. Tamir Rice. Laquan McDonald. Sandra Bland. Michael Brown. If you paid attention to national news during the past year and a half, bells may be ringing in your head. Or sirens. Each of these African-Americans died during or following highly scrutinized encounters with police officers, sparking massive protests and direct changes from local, state, and federal governments. These names and others have become fixtures of presidential debates and dinner discussions. This article is about the stories you may not have heard, told by African-American families who live on following the deaths of their loved ones. Stetson's chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union invited them to Stetson to hold a panel discussing police brutality, but when only six students came on the rainy night, the event became one of remembrance. See Violence, Page 2 Candlelight vigil calls for community and national change Shaylen Vitale Staff Contributor A small gathering of students came together by the Holler Fountain on Feb. 5 to hold a candlelight vigil commemorating what would have been Trayvon Martin's birthday. Martin, a seventeen-year-old high school student who was shot and killed by a Neighborhood Watch volunteer in 2012, would have been 21 this year. Stetson's ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) organization on campus, in collaboration with the Cross Cultural Center (Tri-C), organized this vigil to honor the memory of Trayvon almost exactly four years after his death. The Trayvon Martin case has been a controversial issue over the last few years. Martin, a 17-year-old African American high school student, was killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in Sanford — less than a half-hour's drive from Stetson — on Feb. 26, 2012. According to CBS news, Martin was walking home that night when he was fatally shot by Zimmerman. The shooting raised numerous questions due to the potential racial-profiling of the situation, as Martin was unarmed when he was apprehended by the white Zimmerman. Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder in Martin's death, but was later aquitted. The case produced numerous protests and set the precedent for later cases of racial and ethnic profiling. About 20 students gathered around Holler Fountain; each was given a small candle to hold as they stood in a semi-circle with a picture of Martin propped against the fountain. Many had to hold their candle close to block the wind. Sophomore Ruth Pierre-Charles, president of ACLU at Stetson, gave a speech before the gathering. "When I first came to Stetson, I didn't realize how close I was to Sanford. I didn't realize how much systematic oppression our nation still has at this moment. This case set a precedent and exposed other cases like it which had gone unnoticed," Pierre-Charles said. Pierre-Charles asked each person present to describe the significance of Trayvon Martin's case in their own lives, and to discuss how to better confront the problem of racial and ethnic profiling by authorities. Sophomore Chandler Steele was one of the first to explain how the case personally affected him: "My mom's attitude towards me going out changed. She realized she couldn't take my safety for granted," Steele recalled. Pierre-Charles said the Trayvon Martin case hit home especially hard for her. "It really pierced my soul when I first learned of the shooting. My little brother always wears a black hoodie, just like Trayvon did. It makes me think about how you can be walking along the street and be racially profiled like that. It's scary to live in the times we do and have the potential to be subject to oppression like that," she said. See Vigil, Page 2