On Wednesday, November 11, 2026, students at Middle Tennessee State University walked out of class and marched across campus in solidarity with Nolan Wells, the 18-year-old Black teenager found dead on Horn Island, Mississippi, on July 6.
The walk was organized by Saniyah Collier, president of MTSU's NAACP chapter, and Gavin Anteau, president of the Greyhounds Party, a campus political organization. Students gathered at the Student Union Building and marched to the Cope Administration Building and back, carrying pickets and posters and chanting "Say his name" and "Nolan Wells didn't drown." Organizer Phoenix Hudson made t-shirts bearing Nolan Wells' face, and student leaders gave speeches about their own experiences facing injustice.
The walk had originally been planned for November 1 but was postponed after Halloween and bad weather. Organizers chose the lunch hour on a Wednesday to reach the largest crowd. "We wanted to come back bigger and better," Anteau said. "We wanted to leave a bigger impact on campus."
The march was briefly interrupted by MTSU police. Lieutenant Demetrius Smith praised the students' advocacy but told them they could no longer use a megaphone or block the path in front of the Cope Administration Building, and that a permit would be required for the next walk. "There's nothing more amplified than a crowd of people that are standing together," said founding Greyhounds member Steven McDonald. "So, I believe if we stand together and we are all as one, we can be just as loud as the megaphone."
Wells went missing on July 4, 2026, during a Fourth of July boating trip to Horn Island with friends. His body was found on the island's shoreline two days later. An independent autopsy commissioned by the family found evidence of blunt force trauma to the back of his head. On September 21, a Jackson County grand jury declined to seek criminal indictments, finding the death consistent with drowning. Both the state medical examiner and the independent examiner classified the cause and manner of death as undetermined. The family continues to call for a federal investigation.
For the students who marched, the point was to keep the case visible. Junior Bri Calvo said she joined after hearing the chants, surprised by how much coverage of Wells' story seemed to have died down. "I think it empowers me to keep doing work to advocate and show up whenever it's needed for everybody, especially people of color," she said.
The Greyhounds say their work is not finished. Another walk is planned in the future for Kohen Wiley, a toddler who was fatally shot by a Mississippi officer.
Sources: MTSU Sidelines, "MTSU students stage walk-out for Nolan Wells" (November 13, 2026) — https://mtsusidelines.com/2026/11/13/mtsu-students-stage-walk-out-for-nolan-wells/
To support Nolan Wells' family: https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-loving-memory-of-nolan-xavier-wells