David Lawson Informative Speech

Hundreds of people packed a hall at Humboldt State University Thursday evening to honor the life of the 19-year-old student that was stabbed to death at a house party in Arcata.

Family members, close friends, students, elected officials, religious leaders and the Arcata Police Department Chief of Police attended the vigil for David Josiah Lawson, a sophomore studying criminology that moved to the city from Perris, Calif.

Corliss Bennett, director of the university’s Cultural Centers for Academic Excellence, took to the podium to talk about her work the student group Brothers United of which Lawson was elected president.

“The brother had potential,” she said. “That brother had, like, strength and courage and smile that could knock out a room.”

“It just hurt my soul to hear this and try and wrap myself around it,” she added.

Michelle-Charmaine Lawson took to the stand in tears, helped by several Brothers United member that helped organize and host the vigil. She detailed her son’s first encounter with a HSU recruiter and his passion to attend the university.
“This is where he wanted to be,” she said.

“I knew he was in a good place, I knew he was going to be taken care of,” she added. “I knew even though he was leaving his family in Southern california he was going to have this great big family here, in Humboldt.”

She thank university administration, university staff and his fellow Brothers United club members for their support in the aftermath of David Lawson’s death.

“I have three children,his sister Chloe his brother Anothony, but now I have 15 or 17 new children that I didn’t give birth to but I am going to welcome all these boys — young men,” she said of the Brothers United members.

Elijah Chandler, an HSU student and fellow Brothers United member, also took to the stand to tell of his memories with David Lawson and the trouble he has had coping with the incident. Chandler had stated before in a Facebook post that he was at the party with David Lawson and had perform CPR on him.

“I’ve been doing a lot of talking and each time it’s gotten a bit harder,” he said.

He recounted the death of his grandmother and a lesson he learned from that experience that made him feel now that he could

persevere.
“My state of mind right now is: for the family for the brothers I’m about to be strong and everything we were doing continues because Josiah wants it,” he said.
Arcata police chief Tom Chapman took the stand ahead of a moment of silence almost in tears.
“You sent your son here to get an education and to be a part of our community to grow and be a man and that was extinguished,” he said, addressing Michelle-Charmaine Lawson.
“I want you to know, I want you guys to know we will have justice for David — it will happen,” Chapman said.