On Monday, at least 10,000 marchers filled the streets of downtown Indianapolis as part of a national protest - which literally stretched from Los Angeles to New York City, from Atlanta to Pittsburgh. A handful of Ball State University students joined those thousands of people to declare their own beliefs.
Ball State can be proud of the few students who attended the march in Indianapolis - not because everyone at the university supports their cause, but because it's nice to see students supporting something.
Debates and discussions regarding the future of U.S. border control and treatment of illegal immigrants have been going on for months because of recent Congressional actions. The Ball State students who went down to Indianapolis to join the protest got involved because they wanted to raise awareness of immigrant issues, to show people that illegal immigrants are just trying to get by - like everyone else.
But despite personal opinions on the politics of the march, what's most important is that Ball State students joined a protest.
But it wasn't just any protest. It wasn't a group of five or 15, as this campus is used to seeing - it was a nationwide show of unity.
And Ball State students were among those speaking out.
Every one of us should hope to feel so strongly about an issue; every one of us should care enough to fight for the issues we believe in.
And if there's one thing we can all learn from the unfathomable number of people involved in this protest, it's that immigration issues relate to all of us somehow. Because there are 11 million illegal immigrants in this country, the lives and rights of that population do affect us - so we should all be paying attention.
This can serve as a wake-up call to everyone at Ball State who's never had the experiences these immigrants and their children have.
If we pay a little more attention because of Monday's demonstration, all those marchers will have accomplished at least one of their goals.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
