More than 700 miles from Ferguson, Mo. where 18 year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by a Ferguson Police Officer, students at Elon join the movement against social injustice. The situation in Ferguson is racially sensitive as the police officer who shot Brown, an African-American, is white.
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. is sponsoring Brown's funeral, and on Elon's campus, the members of the Sigma Delta chapter are working to organize events to bring light to this issue. The first event will be a "Hands Up" picture at the first College Coffee of the semester on August 26.
"Really, with the movement what we're trying to get across is that there was no reason for any of these things to happen," said Jonathan Glover, Alpha Phi Alpha member.
Another Elon student, who wishes to remain anonymous, said they think that this may be too much too soon.
"The 'Don't Shoot' campaign to me seems a little premature, and it seems just sort of politicized in that we don't know all the facts. He very well could have literally had his hands up, but we don't know all the facts of the situation," they said.
Glover and other members of Alpha Phi Alpha decided, "to organize the "don't shoot" picture to show that not so much Michael Brown, but that we're against any kind of social injustice, regardless of your race, or anything like that."
But Glover and other members of Alpha Phi Alpha hope that the campaign goes beyond social media.
"While the don't shoot picture is a big thing, we want to continue that into more than just a picture but actually Elon taking a stance against the injustice that happened in Missouri,"Glover said.