With the recent court decision to not indict Officer Darren Wilson for the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown, protests and rallies have taken place throughout the country in response to the decision. College students have been at the forefront of such movements, with schools like Rutgers University, University of Maryland at College Park and Central Michigan University, to name a few, leading their own movements. Even in its tragedy, the shooting of Mike Brown has united the nation — and even international communities — for a common cause of justice. Brown’s case has proven to be not just an isolated incident in Ferguson, Missouri, but part of a larger societal and cultural issue in America — one that college students are firmly addressing.

Many people have felt hopeless about the decision made. Undoubtedly, it is an injustice for Brown’s case to not have its day in court, and many of the actions taken throughout the grand jury proceedings were unjust as well. But rather than assume that someone else can do the work, college students should now seize this moment of disappointment to make ourselves the leaders who can prevent other injustices of the same nature.

College students specifically can learn many lessons from what has transpired in Ferguson, Missouri, considering that there were so many wrongdoings on behalf of the officials and professionals involved. For aspiring journalists and producers of media, Ferguson is a teaching point on the importance of being immersed and well versed on the issues facing people of all communities, so that a more accurate voice can be provided to those we are reporting on. For aspiring lawyers, politicians or law enforcers, Ferguson teaches us the importance of exercising our powers responsibly and justly.

But most importantly, Ferguson should be a lesson for all college students — and the population in general — to understand what it means to speak out against the ways in which our legal system has failed to live up to the just standards it should. It is now the time to re-evaluate our values as a nation and face the fact that not all groups are treated in the same manner — especially those who are young, African American males, which is reflected in many of their recent unjustified deaths.

Although progress can come in the wake of the Mike Brown case, these lessons on justice and equal treatment should not have to be learned at the expense of another young black male. It should not take death and uproars from a community for the world to wake up and acknowledge the injustices and privilege that affect people of color and marginalized peoples on a daily basis. It’s our responsibility to change that.

Nina Rodgers is a junior sociology major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at nmrodger@syr.edu.