FSU, FAMU students walk out in reaction to verdict
October 12, 2007 By Jim Ash Florida Capital Bureau Chief
TALLAHASSEE -- Some students walked out of classes at Florida A&M University and Florida State University today to protest the not-guilty verdict handed down in the trial of seven boot camp guards and a nurse accused of manslaughter in last-year's death of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson.

"I just got several phone calls. Please let everyone know that we are not organizing this, these people walked out on their own. The kids are just mad." said Vanessa Baden, an organizer for the Student Coalition for Justice....

Photo slideshows at the Tally Dem here and here...
audio of protestors chanting...
more news and video below the fold...

Baden said she received several phone calls from angry students shortly after the verdict was announced and was told they planned a spontaneous march on the Capitol. Their calls were followed by calls from Capitol Police asking if a protest was planned, Baden said.

By 2:15 p.m., the Capitol Courtyard was empty of protesters.

Baden said the verdict was devastating and called for a federal investigation.

"We are going to pursue federal charges, we are going to work with the NAACP," she said. "It's very difficult to comprehend how the jury could come back with a verdict in 90 minutes. Nevertheless, we can't say we didn't expect this."

Baden said the verdict will only stiffen her resolve.

"Justice has not been served," she said. "One day, we are going to be able to tell our kids that a black life is just as worthy as a white life."

Sakina Bowser, 22, and Georgia Dawkins, 20, watched the verdict with other FAMU students in their journalism class.

"Everybody just stopped everything that they were doing," Bowser said. "As they read the verdict, there was silence."

Bowser and Dawkins were among the first students to arrive at the Capitol for a protest.

"I'm disappointed in America," Dawkins said.

"There's no justice anywhere," Bowser said.

October 12, 2007
Protest ends peacefully

Update at 6:38 p.m.

TALLAHASSEE -- The protest has broken up. The streets are clear. Student organizers have asked to meet this week with federal authorities who are investigating a possible civil rights violation.

* * *

TALLAHASSEE -- Student protesters have marched a quarter-mile to the intersection of Monroe Street (U.S. 27) and Tennessee Street (U.S. 90). Police presence has increased, and the protesters have been told that if they continue to block traffic, they will be arrested.

* * *

TALLAHASSEE -- About 200 students marched to the steps of the state Capitol this afternoon to protest the verdict in the boot camp case. By late afternoon, they were blocking traffic on a major road.

A circle of about 50 people were holding hands in the middle of the intersection of Apalachee Parkway and Monroe Street near the Capitol. At 6 p.m., they began marching toward Tennessee Street.

The students, who appeared to be mainly from Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, arrived earlier at the Capitol, chanting "This is what democracy looks like. No justice, no peace" as they gathered around a fountain.

Many wore makeshift T-shirts with white paper taped to black shirts with the words: "You've got to be kidding me. Not guilty?"

Frederick Simmons, a FAMU senior from Hernando, said he got a "sick feeling" in his gut when he first heard about the verdict on the television as he was preparing for a legal class. Simmons was among a group of about 250 students from Florida A&M, Florida State University and Tallahassee Community College who marched from FAMU to the steps of the Capitol.

"I had to pause and I had to change to a different channel to see if it was true, I just couldn't believe it," said Simmons who immediately joined the peaceful march.

House minority leader Dan Gelber was speaking to the students about 4 p.m.

About 5 p.m., the group decided to march toward Monroe Street, a major thoroughfare, to block traffic at rush hour, which authorities had warned them against. A bus carrying sheriff's deputies in riot gear was nearby.

--Jennifer Liberto, Times staff writer

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