Kendra White, a senior in chemistry and a member of the ISU track and field team, left Florissant, a St. Louis suburb, and headed back to college just like thousands of students do each and every year.

As White was leaving, her little brother cried and asked if he could go to college with his sister.

What makes her story different from many other students’ situations is that White’s 13-year old brother wanted to go to college with his big sister to escape the area that in recent weeks had resembled a war zone: Ferguson.

“It worries me,” White said of leaving Florissant to move back to Ames. “When I left my brother crying, he was holding on to me and wouldn’t let me out of the door and was like, ‘Can I move where you’re going?’ … he was saying ‘I’ll pack my stuff.’

“I worry about it because my brother could be walking down West Florissant [Street] with his friends to get snacks or whatever and something could pop off again and he’s stuck right there in the middle of it alone. That’s a dangerous situation.”

The towns of Ferguson and Florissant, which share a school district, meet on West Florissant Street, a name which may be more familiar after the past few weeks of news coverage.

The previously anonymous St. Louis suburb of Ferguson became a national news story Aug. 9 amid the controversy that followed Michael Brown’s death. Brown, an unarmed African-American man, was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer on West Florissant Street.

Worrying about her brother wasn’t the first time White had been worried in the aftermath of Brown’s death. She worried for Brown’s family, though she didn’t know them personally. She worried about her own family, knowing that Brown’s fate could have easily been her own fate.

“It hit home when I realized [where Brown was shot is] literally five minutes down the street,” White said. “It hurt for me to see Mike Brown’s mother. That really hits home because that could be my mother.

“I live in Ferguson-Florissant. This is literally my community. To just see his mom crying — that made me cry. That could be my mom, or my aunt crying about my cousin. It hurts me just because it is so close to home.”

Brown was shot and killed by a police officer after the officer confronted Brown in the street and Brown allegedly reached into the officer’s vehicle and tried to grab his gun. Brown then ran from the officer, who got out of his car and told Brown to stop. Brown then allegedly turned around and charged at the officer before being shot. 

Community members, however, claim that Brown was complying with the officer, had his hands up and was surrendering to the officer.

In the days following the shooting, details of the incident were not released, causing outrage among Ferguson citizens. The tension built up and protests turned violent on a nightly basis from Aug. 10 to 13.

Once again, White had reason to worry. Her community was looted and vandalized. The local Kwik Trip was burned to the ground. Protesters were shot with rubber bullets and arrested.

“Two of my cousins both work at the Wal-Mart that was broken into and he sent me a Snapchat of a video and it was just people rushing in,” White said. “So I called him and he said they were both getting out of there because he was like ‘I’m not staying for this because there is going to be shootings and stuff like that.’

“As soon as they got out of Wal-Mart, that’s when the shooting[s] started happening.”

The violence in the days following Brown’s death was largely attributed to the lack of information the police department released, White said.

“When the police weren’t giving any answers, I knew something was going to happen,” White said. “The people were already angry and then you’re not giving them answers? You just knew something was going to happen. I knew it would be hell on West Florissant [Street].”

Jared Ingram, a sophomore in kinesiology and health and fellow ISU track and field member, spent the first 18 years of his life in Ferguson before moving to Ames for college. Ingram was in Ferguson when the rioting took place.

Both Ingram and White repeatedly stressed that the rioting, looting and vandalizing were done by the minority. The vast majority of protesters were peaceful, they said.

“Some people weren’t really protesting. Some people took advantage of the situation and looted and stuff … but those weren’t necessarily protesters,” Ingram said. “As soon as the looting started and the media started reporting on it, other people watching at home saw that and started to try to take advantage of the situation and steal stuff because the police weren’t really able to do anything at that point.”

Ferguson police responded to the violence with force. On a nightly basis, Ferguson police were spotted with armored vehicles and automatic weapons throughout Ferguson.

Video coverage of the protesting that circulated throughout social media proved that, at least on occasion, peaceful protesters were shot with rubber bullets and had tear gas canisters thrown at them.

“The protesting was very peaceful. Obviously it was disruptive because that’s what protesting is supposed to be. It’s supposed to get attention and make our voices be heard,” Ingram said. “The police were like militarized, like a SWAT team. They had automatic weapons pointed at civilians and that really made people angry. There’s no reason for an automatic weapon to be in the face of a peaceful protester.”

Ingram and White both feel that the police presence amped up the tension and believe that was a major reason for why violence broke out.

“I think the night[s] of the violent protests, people were scared. People had guns pointed at them and rubber bullets were being shot,” Ingram said. “People were scared and felt like our rights were being taken away.”

The Ferguson police claimed the use of force was warranted, because of the fact that some protests had been violent.

White and Ingram said that even when protests were peaceful, the protests were dispersed by unwarranted force.

“People were peacefully protesting and [the police] have riot gear and guns pointed at them,” White said. “Police are supposed to protect and serve and at this point they’re not protecting us. It’s hard to trust the police to protect you when you have an unarmed man being killed.”

The violence that occurred in Ferguson became major news across the country. Issues of racism, police brutality and prejudice were debated by political pundits across the country. The happenings in Ferguson dominated the news cycle.

“I really agree with the ‘no justice, no peace’ saying because something had to be done,” White said. “And although I don’t agree with the violence, I feel like if that wouldn’t have happened, then [Brown’s death] wouldn’t be getting the attention that it has gotten.”

On Aug. 14, five days after Brown was killed, both Ingram and White joined protests in downtown St. Louis by the Gateway Arch and later that night on West Florissant Street, where some of the rioting had occurred.

White was in a group text message with friends asking if anybody would be interested in joining the protests with her. White also texted Ingram and invited him to join.

“I wanted to go and protest because our voices have to be heard,” White said. “I just can’t sit by and let it happen. If I just sit by and let something happen, it’s like I don’t care. And I care a lot, so we got a group to meet up and we went to protest.”

Though violence had broken out the previous four nights between the police and protesters, Ingram and White still wanted to be a part of the protest. They knew it could potentially be dangerous, but they decided it was worth the risk.

Fortunately, for the first time in four nights, violence did not break out between the police and civilians.

“Everybody was so close and we were able to come together for a good cause and try to make a difference,” Ingram said. “People were very much still mad and upset about what happened, but we were happy that we were able to come together and weren’t denied our right to peacefully protest. It was important to me, since it was so close to home, to go out and support [Brown’s] family and be a part of the community effort.”

Both Ingram and White have now returned to Ames in preparation for the fall semester, but both are still searching for answers. The main question on their minds is why more information has not been released about Brown’s death.

“To us, the evidence is there … especially, when he was shot at least six times,” White said. “That’s not something that should happen to an unarmed man.”

Ingram was also clear on his stance on Brown’s death.

“What that officer did, in my mind, is a crime,” Ingram said. “It was force that did not need to be used. He murdered somebody’s child.”

While both Ingram and White took issue with the police’s procedure following Brown’s death as well as with the rioting procedure, they also both took offense to their hometown area’s portrayal in the media.

In their view, they felt like Ferguson was being portrayed as a violent neighborhood. They felt the media gave people the wrong impression of what Ferguson is normally like.

“It was weird coming [back to Ames] because a lot of people either don’t know what’s going on [in Ferguson] or jumped to conclusions. I’ve heard things that are completely false testimonies based on what they thought they heard on the news, and that’s really frustrating just because it reflects poorly on where I grew up,” Ingram said. “That’s my home.”

Both White and Ingram repeatedly stated that Ferguson is not a violent area. Being from the St. Louis area, they both admitted that crime is present, but they said that Ferguson has never been a violent neighborhood.

“This is the town where I’ve grown up in. I’ve lived here all 18 years of my life before college. I’ve never been assaulted. I’ve never had a gun pointed at me. I’ve never been robbed. I’ve never gotten in a fight,” Ingram said. “Ferguson has always been a safe place to live.”

But in the days since Brown’s death, Ferguson has not been a safe place to live. The protesting continues, and Ingram said he thinks protesting will continue until the situation is resolved.

“Usually whenever something like this happens, it’s big for awhile and then you won’t hear about the trial until a year later, and by that time people are just kind of tired by it,” Ingram said. “I think people got fed up with that, so [the people of Ferguson] refuse to stop until we get answers and we get justice.”