Law enforcement officials from all parts of Louisiana went to the town of Jena last Thursday to manage the 10,000 protesters who were  supporting the six boys in the Jena Six trial.

The protestors, who have since been applauded for echoing the spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, chanted, “Free the Jena Six” while others in the mostly white town hung nooses on the Jena High School campus.

In Ithaca, a rally was held at the same time on Cornell University’s Hope Plaza. Approximately 100 people attended, estimated Brittany Swift, president of Sigma Gamma Rho at Cornell, whose sorority helped organize the demonstration.

Swift said she was disappointed by the attendance at the Cornell rally, which represented less than one percent of both Ithaca and Cornell’s combined population of 20,000 undergraduate students.

Some blame the insignificant response on political apathy of the college-aged generation. College campuses, because of their size and concentration, should be forums for change but do not always succeed in this mission.

Students should look to past generations and the precedent that they set as revolutionary vocal leaders to right social wrongs. Backlash from the Jena Six trial makes it clear that while their efforts were successful, racism is still a relevant issue today.

The case of student apathy toward the Jena Six is not an isolated one. It is indicative of a tendency to overlook problems that seem distant to us though they harm those who are victimized as they continue. This generation of students should take note of national and international events and embrace past generations’ enthusiasm for change.