This past Friday, the body of Joseph Smedley, a junior at Indiana University, was found in Griffy Lake. Smedley was reported missing on Sunday, September 27, and was discovered on Friday, October 2.

However, upon posting ‘missing person’ flyers on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, I was stunned to learn how many Hoosiers had no idea who Joseph Smedley was, let alone that he was missing. ‘Stunned’ is probably the wrong word. I’ll go with appalled, or even disgusted.

If you attended Indiana University last year, you probably know about the horrendous murder of Hannah Wilson, a senior who was just two weeks from graduating when she was killed. You also probably know of Lauren Spierer, who went missing on June 3, 2011, and was never found.

But do you know Joseph Smedley? He was biochemistry major, and a member of the Sigma Pi fraternity on campus. He was also a black male, and not a white female.

Before I continue any further, I realize this is a controversial article. I am very saddened by the death of Hannah Wilson, and the disappearance of Lauren Spierer. Both women were taken from us too early, and no family deserves to go through what the Wilson’s and Spierer’s have gone through. Joseph Smedley was also a Hoosier who was taken from us way too early.

Scrolling through Yik Yak this past week, I saw maybe four or five posts about Joseph Smedley. The rest were about the football game, drunken hook-ups, or complaints about the slow Wi-Fi on campus. To raise awareness, I posted a Yak just saying ‘#FindJosephSmedley.’ It was ‘down-voted’ and kicked off within ten minutes of posting it.

Yet, when Hannah Wilson went missing, it was all over Yik Yak. Fraternities cancelled their parties, and there was a vigil for her.

So the big question is, why are people not more upset about this?

Unfortunately, it’s an American phenomenon, mostly propelled by media outlets. It’s called the ‘Missing White Girl Syndrome,’ and we have all fallen prey to it in one way or another.

We’ve all heard of Amber Alerts—alerts that are sent out if a child 17 or younger goes missing. But what about Rilya Alerts?

Named after Rilya Wilson, a four year old who went missing in Florida, Rilya Alerts are Amber Alerts but for children of color. According to the Journalism Center for Children and Families, “the need for an extra alert system for racial minorities stems largely from the 'Missing White Girl Syndrome' — a tendency by the news media to cover the murders and abductions of affluent or middle-class white girls far more than those of boys, poor kids and kids of color, especially African-Americans.”

If you think Rilya Alerts should be eliminated and just be put under Amber Alerts, try to think of how many white children you can name that have gone missing and/or turned up dead. Now, see if you can name the African-American children that have gone missing. It’s a little harder, right?

The fact of the matter is, 42% of all missing children in America are black. So why does the media usually only report missing white females?

According to Dorothy Roberts, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, “[The Missing White Girl Syndrome] reinforces an unequal valuation of children, causing less attention to paid to black children who are missing and less pressure on police and prosecutors to investigate. It creates the impression that that's just the way it is for black kids — they get abducted or killed. So people get to be apathetic about the unconscious inequities in our country.”

I know Joseph Smedley was not a child. But it’s almost impossible to deny the bias in American media, even when it comes to missing adults.

Of course all Hoosiers matter. We just need to remember that Black Hoosiers matter, also.

I will personally do my best to make sure that the legacy of Joseph Smedley is not forgotten.

IU students have organized a vigil in memory of Joseph Smedley II this Wednesday at 7pm at Dunn Meadow. The Smedley family has created a Go Fund Me page to help cover the cost of funeral arrangements.