On November 16, 1972, during a student protest at Southern University in Baton Rouge, 20-year-old Denver Smith was killed by a single shotgun blast while participating in demonstrations over inadequate funding and facilities. The crowd had gathered after the pre-dawn arrests of student leaders and clashed with a heavy law enforcement presence of sheriff’s deputies and state troopers; another unarmed student, Leonard Brown, was also killed that day.

A state-appointed commission later concluded the fatal shot came from the area where sheriff’s deputies were positioned. A grand jury declined to indict, and an FBI inquiry did not produce charges; no individual officer has been identified as the shooter. Decades of unresolved grief followed, and in November 2022 the state issued a formal apology to the families.

Who among readers remembers the events on campus that day or has information that could help clarify what happened?