As this mild weathered school year begins, students swarm stores purchasing school supplies, clothes and the classic ramen noodle packets. Years and years of preparing for all of the “just wait until you get to college” and “you need to know this for college” advisements from teachers and family members have led to this. It’s all very normal for so many youth, but some who worked so hard to be accepted into a college or university were not so lucky to reach it.

Imagine being days away from beginning your college education and having your life be unjustly taken away. The murder of Michael Brown on August 9th of this year is a tragedy from various points of view.

A young man, only 18, Michael was merely days away from starting school at Vatterott College. Accused of stealing from a convenience store, police tracked him down, who was walking home with a friend, when Officer Darren Wilson confronted him in his patrol vehicle. The boys ran, and Wilson pursued. Brown stopped, raised his hands, reportedly saying, “Don’t shoot!” and was, in turn, fatally shot.

This young man’s murder was no doubt a hate crime on the behalf of the Ferguson Police Department’s Officer Wilson. He was very well known as a good student with future goals of owning his own business, working his way to graduate to go to college to do so. He was also unarmed, nonaggressive and compliant before he was wrongly shot. Even if Brown had stolen from a convenience store, that’s by no means grounds for the aggressive, gun-firing reaction on behalf of the officer. What else are police tasers for?

I can’t even count the number of times parties here on campus have been busted and most of the partygoers are simply told to go home. Simple, easy, quick. Imagine a full raid, breaking down doors, tackling people, shouting and pointing assault rifles at everyone, to be pushed outside where tanks and other equipment of war are waiting.

Crazy, right?

Why is this occurring to only one part of our community? Why aren’t more people angry about this?

The events occurring in Ferguson, Missouri are not riots; they are not violent outbursts; they are peaceful gatherings protesting the unjust death of a young community member and the militarized, out of control policing which is tearing lives apart. Tear gas thrown in residential lawns, rubber bullets and wooden blocks pelted at protesters who only want justice for Michael Brown. Their chants of “No justice, no peace” being warped by police officers who reported the protesters saying, “Kill the police.” Officers without their badges or nametags are responding with an unnecessary amount of violence and disregard for the lost life and the current lives of those demanding change.

We are the youth of the country, and our voices matter, each one of them. Even if we can’t physically rally and support those oppressed or experiencing the injustices of the country, we can spread awareness, show support, sign petitions and make all of our voices heard. Don’t forget the name Michael Brown. It is our responsibility to rid our country of the oppression that is still to this day occurring to our fellow citizens.

Stephanie Gartner is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].