An NYPD officer was cleared in the choking-death of Eric Garner yesterday, Dec. 3, according to New York Post.
Garner, whose death was caught on tape, told the officers "I can't breathe," before his body went limp.
Those words have become the rallying cry of protesters around the country.
Michael Griffin Grogan-Herod, senior in English, said he was angered after hearing the officer was cleared.
"I was like, 'You're pulling this after Ferguson was like a week ago?'" Grogan-Herod said. "It just astounded me."
Grogan-Herod arrived at Haley Concourse at 8 a.m. with a sign that read, "I can't breathe."
"I thought, 'I need to do something that's not just yelling,'" Grogan-Herod said. "I didn't plan on much, I was just going to sit there with the sign all day. I just wanted to raise awareness."
However, as the day went on, people began to join Grogan-Herod's silent protest.
Stephanie Owens, sophomore in business, said she was hesitant about protesting.
"I think it's a good thing he went ahead and started something we were all a little apprehensive about," Owens said. "If it wasn't for Griffin, we probably would have been on our heels and waited a little longer to come out and do something."
Ammouri Lang, sophomore in mechanical engineering, said she wishes more people joined the protest.
"It's great that he believes in something like this, and he had the courage to stand up and come out here with his sign when nobody else was out here," Lang said. "It makes people nervous, but it's also a good thing to do. If more of us would get together, there's no telling what type of influence we would have."
Jaylynn James, sophomore in information systems management, said she is protesting for justice.
"If the pledge says, 'justice for all,' we should have justice for all," James said. "The police shouldn't be able to get away with anything just because they are police."
According to Grogan-Herod, the response from students has been mostly positive.
"I've gotten a couple sneers and a couple of mean looks," Grogan-Herod said. "But I've gotten a ton more fist bumps and handshakes and smiles and thumbs up. People have been so nice. People have said, 'Man, I appreciate what you do.' That's been awesome."
Grogan-Herod said, while he still believes people are too indifferent toward the Garner case, he is glad he decided to share his message.
"I do believe, right now, there should be more people here," Grogan-Herod said. "I feel that there's sort of this apathy toward this issue, especially on campus. But I've met some amazing people today, and I wouldn't trade this for the world."
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