INTERVIEWS BY PETER NJOROGE, CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
On Friday, June 12, Fourth Estate spoke with student protestors on campus during a demonstration for George Floyd.
Fourth Estate / Peter Njoroge
Tristan Zambrano
What do you think is the most important thing for students to be doing right now?
Continue educating. Everybody is fighting a different battle, but we’re all fighting the same war, if that makes sense. Whether you’re having tough discussions at home, signing petitions, donating to organizations [and] movements or being on the front lines, you gotta continue to keep your foot on the gas pedal.
How do your friends and family feel about you being out at a protest?
Friends are 100 percent supportive, family it’s a little 50-50 because we still have the pandemic going on. So I’m making sure to take the necessary precautions that way I don’t affect anybody who may be high-risk at my home.
Why do you think the murder of George Floyd has been able to unite the country in a different way?
I just feel like the Black community saw the opportunity to unite within this grand era of social activism. Through social media and everything, everybody’s updated on everything, everything happening in the world at whatever time it may be. So, really, they’re just finally speaking up, they feel like they have the platform to do it and we have a good amount of allies to actually support us and stand on top of.
What do you want to see from your favorite organizations and companies right now?
That’s a really tough question. You can start with a lot of stuff. I would say, mainly, right now, I would love to see a lot of my favorite businesses [and] organizations pouring money — defunding police — and pouring money into school systems that are underfunded.
Fourth Estate / Peter Njoroge
Janell Armstead
What do you think is the most important thing for students to be doing right now?
There’s a lot of information online, but definitely protesting, signing petitions and then voting is definitely really important, not just on the federal level but the local level as well because that’s where a lot of it — a lot happens — so people definitely need to vote.
How do your friends and family feel about you being out at a protest?
My family and friends are very supportive. I personally did not have any resistance. If anything [there was] some resistance on how the protest was going to be structured, but as far as having it in general, there wasn’t much resistance.
Why do you think the murder of George Floyd has been able to unite the country in a different way?
I would definitely say the video was very, very powerful. The way he died, I think, it was just a little different. Being shot is something we are used to, but the way in which he died was very, very impactful so I think that it hit home for a lot of people. I think people are just tired and it only takes one case sometimes to really allow things to explode. So I think the video in itself, like actually seeing him die and the way in which he died, so slowly, impacted a lot.
What do you want to see from your favorite organizations and companies right now?
Just making sure that they are actually supporting. There’s some people who are and some who aren’t. Some organizations I can’t follow, some people that I was very disappointed [in], different influencers, artists that just, really, weren’t on our side, especially seeing it from a lot of people who — we give them their money. You know, Black people fuel their careers, and so to see how they responded / if they didn’t respond was really … The right people know what to do. We can’t baby [you], we can’t hold your hand, you know what to do and so if you don’t do it and if you’re silent, we just gotta stop supporting them.
Fourth Estate / Peter Njoroge
Nick Fisher
What do you think is the most important thing for students to be doing right now?
Just continuing this momentum. Change is only going to happen when people continue doing what they’re doing. Making sure their voice is being heard.
How do your friends and family feel about you being out at a protest?
They’re fine with it. They’re just making sure that I’m wearing [a] mask and that I’m taking safety precautions.
Why do you think the murder of George Floyd has been able to unite the country in a different way?
I think this is the tipping point because we’ve seen it multiple times in recent years, and I think that people are just finally done with it and it’s just time to step in and take advantage.
What do you want to see from your favorite organizations and companies right now?
I want them to recognize if there’s any systematic oppression going on within their management and try to restructure that to benefit minorities.
