As thousands descended upon the tiny town of Jena, La.—many of them road-tripping college students from as far away as Michigan—college campuses have held their own events to protest the prosecution of six black Jena high schoolers.
Without $10,000 to donate to a legal defense (they're no David Bowie), students have organized, often via Facebook, to wear black or don shirts saying "Free the Jena 6." The Penn State NAACP has set up an informational hub to encourage students to sign a petition in support, and students at Southern Methodist University are staging a six-hour peaceful protest—one hour for each accused teen. San Jose State University will hold a silent protest, while students at Vanderbilt University woke up bright and early to line the streets armed with signs proclaiming "Racism lives" and entreating passersby to "Take a stand" and "Speak out."
Lastly, a small group of University of Virginia students made the 1,000-mile trek from Charlottesville to Jena. "We are going to tell the DA that racial injustice will not be allowed," said one of the travelers. "I want U.Va. to be a part of history."
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