After police shootings and protests across the country, UW-Green Bay students want people to recognize what they call racial issues on their own campus, in addition to what's happening nationwide.
Members of the Black Student Union staged a silent protest on Tuesday. They held signs and put duct tape over their mouths to draw attention to their cause.
"The duct tape shows that our civil liberties, I feel like, are being suppressed and if we speak, we might endanger ourselves," said Christopher Thomas, a protestor and member of the UWGB Black Student Union.
"We want to get people talking," said Milton Byers, President of the Black Student Union. "Whether it's in a negative way or it's in a positive way, we want people to talk about it, because if they're talking about it then they're thinking about it and then stuff is happening."
Byers and fellow protestors said they wanted to bring racial issues to the forefront on a mostly white campus.
"It's just to get our voices out here, and to say that we see what's happening and that this is our way of contributing to social change," Byers explained.
Nationwide police shootings and racial profiling were part of the reason for the protest. Demonstrators said students and faculty may see posts on social media about racial profiling or police brutality and look the other way, but they want them to know that they face some of the same issues right here in Northeast Wisconsin.
UWGB Chancellor Gary L. Miller released a statement in response to the protest. He said:
"We appreciate and encourage students to protest peacefully about the issues for which they are passionate."
Demonstrators said they hope to continue with more protests, and work with other campus organizations to make changes.
