Students seek support from FGCU administration after Chauvin trial conviction
Last week, Former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin was convicted with the murder against the death of George Floyd and charged with all three counts of murder. President Mike Martin sent an email to students shortly after in reference to the case.
President Martin said that the verdict in the Case of the People vs Derek Chauvin is a step in the right direction that justice can prevail in cases of racism, brutality and insensitivity, but the work against these factors is not done.
“It calls on each of us to reflect on how we can be effective participants in confronting racism, bigotry and intolerance.One case, one verdict will not fundamentally change this conduct and build a more just and caring society. The commitment must be redoubled,” said President Martin in the email.
President Martin said that the inclusivity of the black community is directly correlated with FGCU’s values.
“At FGCU, we will continue to embrace our core values of diversity and inclusion,” he said.
This comes after Former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on the neck of George Floyd for about nine minutes. Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter, and will be sentenced June 16.
Student media groups also agree that resolution of the Case of the People vs. Derek Chauvin case is only one battle in the giant war of racism and brutality, and more should be done to win against hate.
“Although this is good news, it is not justice for George Floyd but mere accountability, which is a step in the right direction,” said one FGCU student media group, the Black Student Alliance, in an Instagram post. “We keep his loved ones/family members in our thoughts and wish them peace through these times.”
However, other minority students at FGCU believe that the school should be doing much more than sending emails to show support to students. Breanna Bland, a student involved with the Coalition for Racial Justice at FGCU, said that the school should take the action to show their inclusivity.
“We don’t want emails from the school saying that they are with us. We want them to show that they are with us. Put forth the work and put forth the action,” Bland said.
Bland was one of the organizers of the FGCU campus protest in October of 2020.
During the protest, the Coalition for Racial Justice and other campus organizations walked through the halls of FGCU shouting “No justice no peace.” The unanimous voices echoed through the covered walkways of Holmes and Seidler Hall while hundreds of students marched with signs engraved with names like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor among others.
Bland said that one of the reasons FGCU can offer support is by coming to protests and meetings that students organize. Still, she said that she and students at FGCU wanted to show that they are in solidarity with the black community and that they are not done.
“No justice, no peace like we like to say,” Bland said.
FGCU sophomore, Madison Welch, agrees that the administration should offer more support to students.
“I feel like FGCU struggles with inclusivity,” said Welch.
Welch said that though FGCU has offices like the Multicultural Leadership Development (MLD center) and Office of Student Involvement (OSI), the understanding and inclusivity that President Martin described his email is not campus wide.
“I think our administration should educate themselves on how to be more inclusive and teach that to the staff, professors, and faculty to incorporate in their classes, events, posters, and every day activities/walk,” she said.
Welch said that she and her classmates agree that FGCU should require a university class that teaches about inclusivity and social justice.
“I honestly agree and think it will beneficial. Because honestly, it’s needed in our world and to work in fields, everyone needs to know/understand it,” she said. “Education is one of the biggest ways to confront racism. Most of people are ignorant to what’s going on because they are not educated. However, some people choose to be ignorant and some people are just ignorant and don’t understand.”
Welch said that one of the reasons she thinks people get insecure when talking about issues affecting the black community is because it turns into an argument.
Welch said this stress and pressure can easily wear the mental health of black students on campus.
“I think, more than anything, this whole situation impacted the black community mental stability. Honestly I have way too many deep conversations with people that look like me who say the same thing — that they are failing in their mental health journey because of everything going on in our world, and we still have to deal with every day activities, the pandemic, school/work, and etc,” said Welch.
The impact of mental health and the need to feel included in the campus community is why students like Welch believe that FGCU should introduce more classes and educational opportunities.
Kaela Thompson, a recent FGCU alumnus that studied during the 2020 protests, agrees. Thompson said that the case has changed her perspective of life, and she had to keep her mental health in check.
“In my personal life, I definitely had to give myself a lot of mental health check-ups. 2020 was a lot,” said Thompson.
Thompson, an African American woman, said that she felt troubled after seeing how her community has been affected.
“When I first heard about George Floyd’s death, I was sad and angry but not surprised. I was sad and angry because it happened, and has been happening again and again and again,” said Thompson. Because of the case, she said she now wants to leave the US when she retires.
This same impact extends to the reflection of how students see themselves. Welch said that the pressure she has felt over the past year has translated on her own image.
“Everything about my identity is crucified, from my hair to my body, and it’s something I can literally never change about myself,” Welch said. “During this time period, I actually experienced my first panic attack because I think it was the first time I realize that that it could’ve been me in that situation because I work as a server and it’s easy for counterfeit money to be put in my possession at work and I can easily used it and been in a situation. It was honestly a scary time in my life, I was scared to go outside, live my life, and do daily activities because I was scared I might not make it home.”
“It’s just so heartbreaking,” said Nadjuska Maurice, an FGCU junior majoring in political science and criminal justice.
She said the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor has made her self-conscious about her own life as an African American woman.
“I don’t want to wake up every day and be scared to be alive. I don’t want to be another name. I don’t want to be another statistic. I don’t want my parents to have to go through that,” Maurice said.
