Courtney Dunne, Copy Editor
Sitting at the lunch table chatting with friends, eating Chartwells and talking about weekend activities makes for a normal day at Ohio Wesleyan.
On Wednesday, Feb. 17, that routine was broken as many OWU students walked into Ham-Will and held an unexpected demonstration to raise awareness for Black Lives Matter.
Students were subtle, but their voices were strong as they held signs that said, “Stop police brutality,” “Unapologetically black… Deal with it,” “Queer black lives matter” and “Black disabled lives matter.”
Students were spread throughout the dining hall, the Bakery, the Ham-Will Atrium, the Bishop Cafe and Beeghly Library.
Junior Caitlin Burton-Dooley stood up in the Zook Nook and asked if everyone could stand in solidarity with senior Reilly Reynolds, who silently held a sign to raise awareness for black lives. Everyone in Zook Nook fell silent.
The Student Union on Black Awareness (SUBA) organized the demonstration to educate the campus on the intersectionality within the African-American community.
Throughout the demonstration, students were seen having different reactions.
Some ignored it and kept on with their daily routine, some gave a nod in acknowledgment while others others, like Burton-Dooley, were vocal of their support.
“It was nice to see people taking it from Facebook into real life [and] doing what they say they want to do,” said senior Cecilia Smith.
Senior Mili Green said, “It’s good to see people taking action. They planned it well to coincide with the Butler A. Jones lecture on Race and Society.”
Junior Trent Williams said, “My sign “Stop police brutality” was as simple as it could get. Police brutality of any kind against any human being is unacceptable in general and should not be tolerated from any police district at all.”