Students continue commemorating Trayvon Martin

Nearly 50 students marched across campus Monday evening, wearing nametags with Trayvon Martin’s name across their chest.

The N.C . State chapter of the NAACP and the African American Student Advisory Council ( AASAC ) organized the march, which led students from Witherspoon Student Center to Cates Hall. Students, shouting political slogans, song lyrics and poetry verses, returned to the steps of Witherspoon where Alexis Teasdell , president of the NCSU NAACP and sophomore in middle grades education, shared her remarks on Martin’s death.

“Today, I am Trayvon Martin,” Teasdell said during her speech in front of the crowd. “Being a black complexion male is not a reason for death.”

Organizers said they put together this event to expose the injustices that persist in a post-civil rights world. Members of Occupy NCSU came to the event and Katina Gad, founder of the club at the University, said Martin’s murder was unacceptable.

This march continues weeks of activism on campus, and Teasdell said the University’s NAACP and the AASAC are organizing a panel discussion to talk about the social impact of Martin’s murder April 15.

“This isn’t just an African American issue,” Teasdell said. “This is injustice everywhere, no matter who you are. What happened to Trayvon happened to all of us. We can do something, we have a voice.”

Black students have networked with students across campus to raise awareness, and on March 29, the Muslim Student Association held the event Hoodies and Hijabs , in memory of Martin and Shaima Al Awadhi , a 32-year-old Muslim woman and mother of five, who was viciously beaten in her home with a tire iron March 24.

“It’s been an issue for a while,” Cameron Buck, a sophomore in biological sciences, said. “We don’t need to be portrayed by this.”

“This is for injustice on campus and we need to unite behind this cause,” Tevin Byrd, a junior in graphic design, said. “We still remember this and let’s act.”