Southeast students, alumni affected by Ferguson events

A number of Southeast Missouri State University students have been affected by events in Ferguson, Missouri, in recent weeks.

On Aug. 9, 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson, a six-year veteran of the Ferguson Police Department. People took to the streets to protest Brown's death, and the story made national news.

Southeast Missouri State University allowed students living in or near Ferguson to move to campus early, on Aug. 19. An email was sent to those students along with a letter from Dr. Kenneth Dobbins, the president of the university.

The letter extended the invitation to on-campus and off-campus students, saying that if off-campus students couldn't live in their off-campus housing, a residence hall room would be made ready for them.

"You, your family and your loved ones are in our thoughts and prayers," Dobbins ended his letter. "We look forward to welcoming you back to campus this week."

Jennifer Gilcrease, a 2006 graduate of Southeast, lives in the Ferguson area.

"I actually stay on the borderline of Ferguson and Jennings, so I've been down to the rally, and all of the stores are gone," Gilcrease said.

Gilcrease talked about how the tear gas and the police presence affected everybody in the community. She said there's a lot of tension among people in the area.

Gilcrease frequently went to West Florissant Avenue to protest during the day, but she did not attend at night.

"In the future I see, I don't know if anything is going to change. I know right now [the police and government officials are] changing things. I'm thinking they're only doing that because they have a spotlight on the scene and people are wanting them to change, making them change," Gilcrease said. "I don't know how long this is going to go on with the National Guard here and all the reporters are here. Hopefully [Brown's] family gets the justice that they want, that they need or they deserve."

Steven Pierce, a sophomore at Southeast, lives on the border of Florissant and Ferguson.

"It's made our community, especially my family, pretty nervous because it's all going on right there and there's wondering if it's going to come this way because we hear things of homes being invaded and there's gunshots everywhere," Pierce said in an interview recently. "It's just really scary when you're going out at night or coming home at night."

Pierce constantly worries about the safety of his girlfriend, who frequently goes to and from his house late at night.

"She lives in Kirkwood, so she would be coming to my house and leaving at midnight. Right before she leaves, I'm checking news, seeing all the updates, seeing where things are happening, where the police are at and seeing if it's safe for her to get to the highway. I had her text me as soon as she got on the highway to make sure she got on safe," Pierce said.

Pierce said he feels neutral when it comes to thinking about who is right or wrong in this situation.

"I don't really want to take a side because the way I see it, both sides mishandled it. It was all blown way out of proportion," Pierce said. "It's a terrible tragedy, but it shouldn't have ended in looting and rioting, and it also shouldn't have ended in militarized police response."

Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew in Ferguson starting Aug. 16, closing the streets from midnight to 5 a.m. The curfew was repealed Aug. 18, and certain streets were barricaded near West Florissant Avenue, either to make sure protesters did not reach neighborhoods or to prevent people from going toward West Florissant.

"Let's seek to heal, rather than to wound each other," President Barack Obama said in a statement Aug. 18 from the White House.

Pertinent address:

One University Plaza, Cape Girardeau, MO

Ferguson, MO