Controversial decisions that have appeared in the news lately have caused protests and conversations to happen around the country and around campus. Whether people are peacefully protesting the decision in the Ferguson case, or any other national event, it is imperative for students to care about and voice their opinion on these prevalent issues because whether it is directly apparent, these national events have an impact on us.

On Dec. 2, hundreds of students marched through campus to show support for African-Americans on campus and protest the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, where police officer Darren Wilson was not indicted for shooting and killing African-American teenager Michael Brown.

Many participants of the march shared the idea that although this case happened in a different state, a similar case could occur closer to home.

“We feel that something needs to be done because what happened to Mike Brown could have happened to anybody,” said Michael Idemudia, junior in AHS and member of the Central Black Student Union who participated in the march.

Another response to Ferguson events came from Harvard Law School Professor Charles Ogletree, who gave a talk at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center Wednesday about civil rights, police brutality and what comes next.

People also participated in a die-in on Monday in support of #BlackLivesMatter and to protest police brutality.

The march, Ogletree’s talk and the die-in help start conversations on campus and raise awareness of issues affecting people nationally and even in Champaign and Urbana.

This year only 356 African-American freshmen enrolled in the fall semester of the 945 that were accepted into the University, according to the Division of Management Information.

On a campus where the African American population is low, starting conversations about race is essential.

It can be easy to get trapped in the bubble of campus and be apathetic to events happening outside of where we live, but it is vital that students use these national issues to start conversations on campus. By doing so, students may realize how we are impacted by what goes on around the world and, in effect, hopefully promote change.

Peaceful protests, talks and demonstrations can help us take national issues and see how we can use them to make differences in our own community.

Students should continue to take initiative and show support for issues they think are important. These acts of demonstration show that we care and are paying attention to what is going on in our world, our country and even on our own campus.