Asia Harris, a master’s student in public health, organized the event one week ago.
“This is a great chance to help these people that are facing injustice, even across the country,” Harris said.
Harris spoke to the group of students about the importance of reaching out to diverse groups of people and communities.
“I want to make sure we’re not turning a blind eye to things we’re seeing,” Harris said. “Don’t think that just because you’re not a black male doesn’t mean you can’t stand up for a black male ?issue.”
Second-year grad student Lindsay Luzania was one of about 40 people who attended the rally for Ferguson.
“IU needs to use their voice and power to stand up for those who don’t have power and demonstrate that we won’t stand for hate,” Luzania said.
After Harris’ speech, the students gathered and took a photo with their hands up, referring to the “Hands up, Don’t Shoot” demonstrations, as a gesture that has become a widespread symbol of solidarity among supporters and ?protesters.
By discussing and raising awareness of the events in Ferguson, Harris said she hopes to use the vast number of people and resources on campus to help people outside of IU.
“We wanted to give folks the chance to discuss what happened in Missouri,” said Cedric Harris, Residential Programs and Services associate director of residential life. “We wanted to make sure effected students could express themselves.”
Asia Harris said she hopes to organize three more events in September, also co-sponsored by Union Board.
She said she hopes to host an Express Yourself mic night at the Indiana Memorial Union and Know Your Rights events that will inform students about what legal rights they have.
She said she also wants to organize an event with the IU Police Department to bring students and police on campus together to discuss campus issues and prevent a “mistrust of the system.”
The goal of these events is to maintain an active dialogue, even after the Ferguson is not as frequently covered in the news, Cedric Harris said.
“I want to talk about those things before they happen here,” Asia Harris said.
