Racism.

That was a focal point of Wednesday’s Brown Bag Diversity Discussion: Does My Hoodie Scare You?

Brown Bag Diversity Discussion is a monthly event hosted by the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Each month, the Wichita State community is invited to the open dialogue.

This week, the event was an open discussion about the shooting death of Trayvon Martin and the jury’s decision to acquit George Zimmerman.

“If it had been a white boy, would we even be having this discussion?” women’s studies major Wilma Foster said. “I don’t think we would.”

Accounting major Jazelle Thomas said there must have been a reason for the shooting.

“Martin had him on the ground and was assailing him when the shot went off,” said criminal justice major Greyson Harmon.

Harmon said Zimmerman didn’t decide to shoot Martin while he was following him.

Spanish major Jennifer Middlebrook said Zimmerman failed to identify himself to Martin. This may have provoked a defensive reaction.

“If he (Martin) was afraid, he had a right to hit him,” Middlebrook said.

Harmon argued differently.

“You’re trained to shoot to kill because that space can be closed quicker than you can pull out and make a judgment call,” Harmon said.

Criminal justice major Matthew Hughes said that you’re trained when going into law enforcement to shoot center mass.

Harmon also said people are taught in training that it is their “responsibility not to instigate these kinds of conflict” because they have deadly force at their disposal.

While the majority of students disagreed with the verdict, whether for racial or judicial reasons, some felt differently.

“There wasn’t enough evidence to prove what actually went down,” Jackson said. “All we can do is create our opinions based off the facts we’ve been given.”

The Brown Bag Diversity Discussions are held the first Wednesday of each month, featuring a new topic each time.