At 12:01 p.m. on Saturday, August 9th, Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Ever since, the case – often referred to as “Ferguson” – has been one of the most controversial topics in America.

The officer who shot Michael Brown has been identified Darren Wilson. The exact circumstances under which Brown was killed are still under dispute, but all of America is speculating as to what took place to lead to the death of Michael Brown.

According to USA Today, St. Louis County police chief Joe Belmar stated in a news conference on August 10 at 10 a.m. that Michael Brown was unarmed when the officer approached him. He also said that Brown physically assaulted the officer, and reached for the officer’s gun.

Public school students living in Ferguson woke up on Monday, August 11 to find that school was cancelled for the safety of the children. On the same day, the police station received several death threats, and seven people were arrested during a gathering outside of the police department. There has also been looting of stores by angry citizens, and reported uses of tear gas and Molotov cocktails by the police force, according to USA Today.

Many teachers are discussing Ferguson in class this year.

English teacher Mr. Manion shared an August 22 article from The Washington Post with his class on the case of Ferguson titled “No Perfect Victim.”

Mr. Manion said that most students in his class “agreed with the main idea of the article that media has pushed people to take one side or the other when they really don’t know/have all the facts.”

When asked about the shooting in Ferguson, government teacher Mr. Kenneth Robertson said he “doesn’t understand how someone’s death” has people thinking “they deserve free stuff from Wal-Mart.”

Another social studies teacher, Ms. Jessica Stern, relates the conflict in Ferguson making the point that “the culture of the police force didn’t change as the demographic changed” which “created a storm.”

According to politifact.com, Ferguson is a neighborhood that is composed of 67% African Americans. Comparatively, there are only three African American police officers on the Ferguson police force.

Senior Kaleb Tsegaye says “it became a race thing, even though nothing was really proven.”

Another senior, Albert Murray, says that “people think of a stereotypical black person you see on the street; the one you avoid.” Although many people want justice to be served, it will be a long time until the Ferguson case reaches a verdict.