Students at Penn State Altoona walked as a tribute to 17-year-old Trayvon Martin whose killer has not been arrested due to Florida laws.
Martin was walking in Sanford, Fla., with Skittles and iced tea on Feb. 26 when a neighborhood watch volunteer fatally shot him, citing self defense as his reason.
Penn State students gathered Sunday at the Slep Student Center prior to their walk for Martin, who was unarmed and headed home from a store, the Miami Herald reported.
"It could happen to any of us-That is the crazy part of it," freshman English major Selvin John of New York said.
"He was going about his life and lost it, just like that."
Florida's stand your ground law allows people to use deadly force rather than retreat during a fight. Florida is among 21 states with such a law, the Associated Press reported.
About 40 Penn State Altoona students walked with sweatshirt hoods up and Skittles candies in hand during an overcast Sunday afternoon.
In doing so, they joined people nationwide calling for justice that they feel has been lost because of the law allowing Martin's alleged killer, George Zimmerman, to not be arrested.
In many "Stand Your Ground" cases, officers make an arrest and let courts decide whether deadly force was necessary, the Associated Press reported. But police have said they did the right thing by not arresting Zimmerman.
There was no texting and no talking during the students' march through Penn State Altoona campus led by walk organizers Ashia Tokponwey of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Tiffany Juie of Atlanta, Ga.
"It is not an issue of race. It is an issue of human rights," Juie, an international relations student said. "The race issue on top of it is disgusting, but at the end of the day, it is about basic rights."
Tokponwey, a journalism and communications student, said another walk is being planned and will be advertised for the Altoona area.
Blair County NAACP president Donald Witherspoon walked with the students Sunday.
"Students come in from all over the country to be in our community, and I work with Penn State Altoona to make sure students are supported. The 'Stand Your Ground' law is getting a lot of attention-the NAACP is making sure we stand our ground not only for African Americans but for the entire community."
