A number of St. Louis-area colleges will be closed on Tuesday in response to violent protests that erupted on Monday night following the announcement that no charges would be brought against a white police officer who killed an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, on August 9.
A 12-member St. Louis County grand jury's decision not to indict the officer, Darren Wilson, prompted a series of confrontations between protesters, some throwing bottles and bricks, and police officers in riot gear, who responded with tear gas.
As the protests escalated with looting, fires, and sporadic gunfire, St. Louis Community College posted a message on its website saying classes would be canceled through December 1, extending the Thanksgiving holiday.
Earlier in the evening, Washington University officials said their west campus, which consists mainly of an administrative and retail building in downtown Clayton, near where the grand jury was meeting, would be closed on Tuesday.
Other campuses were cautiously planning to open, although some off-campus students complained on social media that they wouldn't be able to get to classes.
Read more at The Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/article/St-Louis-Area-Campuses-Brace/150223