Spring Break
Reinharz decides to arm campus police
by Anya Bergman
News | 9/18/07
Posted online at 3:50 AM EST on 9/18/07
/ Last updated at 8:09 PM EST on 9/18/07
Taletha Derrington (GRAD), an international student who served on the committee, is pleased that her objections to arming the officers are included in the report, but she wrote in an e-mail to the Justice Monday that she still has concerns regarding the final decision.
"I do not think the report's recommendation represents the consensus of the committee accurately-… It was my understanding that we would recommend at least one community forum to share what we learned with the Brandeis community and allow those who were not around during the summer to participate in the discussion," she wrote.
"I had hoped that rather than following the pack of other universities that have armed their police, Brandeis would have stood by its commitment to social justice by making a decision that uses our brains rather than our brawn to address the issue of campus security," Derrington wrote.
Of the 26 private schools in the Association of American Universities, 20 currently arm their police officers, including Harvard University and Brown University.
Students were also reported to feel uneasy about the presence of guns because they have experienced police brutality in their home communities.
Ultimately, the committee decided that the Virginia Tech tragedy changed the context of their deliberations swaying several committee members.
The committee received presentations from Brandeis and Waltham officers, among others, all in support of arming, Collins said.
"I was responsible to make the final presentation on arming the police officers," Haley said. "The Brandeis University police officers are very effectively trained and this is just a tool to perform the job they need to do."
He encouraged the community and the administration to continue supporting the officers.
In a campuswide e-mail earlier this month, French wrote, "In its five meetings, the committee studied practices on other campuses, heard from the Acting Chief of the Waltham Police Department and safety and security officers from other campuses, spoke with Brandeis Public Safety officers, and deliberated the options in depth."
"I do not think the report's recommendation represents the consensus of the committee accurately-… It was my understanding that we would recommend at least one community forum to share what we learned with the Brandeis community and allow those who were not around during the summer to participate in the discussion," she wrote.
"I had hoped that rather than following the pack of other universities that have armed their police, Brandeis would have stood by its commitment to social justice by making a decision that uses our brains rather than our brawn to address the issue of campus security," Derrington wrote.
Of the 26 private schools in the Association of American Universities, 20 currently arm their police officers, including Harvard University and Brown University.
Students were also reported to feel uneasy about the presence of guns because they have experienced police brutality in their home communities.
Ultimately, the committee decided that the Virginia Tech tragedy changed the context of their deliberations swaying several committee members.
The committee received presentations from Brandeis and Waltham officers, among others, all in support of arming, Collins said.
"I was responsible to make the final presentation on arming the police officers," Haley said. "The Brandeis University police officers are very effectively trained and this is just a tool to perform the job they need to do."
He encouraged the community and the administration to continue supporting the officers.
In a campuswide e-mail earlier this month, French wrote, "In its five meetings, the committee studied practices on other campuses, heard from the Acting Chief of the Waltham Police Department and safety and security officers from other campuses, spoke with Brandeis Public Safety officers, and deliberated the options in depth."
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
Dan
posted 9/18/07 @ 3:59 PM EST
It is video's and stories like this one at the University of Florida, that really makes the arming of our public safety officers scare me.
http://youtube. (Continued…)
haha
posted 9/18/07 @ 11:59 PM EST
"Training and arming officers will cost around $100,000, Executive Vice President of Campus Operations Peter French said. "
We could bring another president to the University for that much!!! This decision seems very reactionary and not incredibly well thought out. (Continued…)
Don't Tase Me, Bro
posted 9/19/07 @ 12:33 PM EST
nuff said. Don't trust campus police. They're just egomaniacal pigs hell bent on torturing students because they are not bright enough to be able to beat innocent blacks with the LAPD. (Continued…)
James Sanders
posted 9/19/07 @ 12:41 PM EST
Seriously? What happened to the Justice's moderation policy? Basically you have comments saying that all cops are bad. Do you actually know any of the Brandeis Cops? Some of the are very nice, caring people. (Continued…)
Gavriel Lieberman
posted 9/19/07 @ 8:10 PM EST
I'd like to applaud President Jehuda for taking the necessary actions to help ensure the safety of the Brandeis student body. For him to do the right thing despite obvious pressures from Brandeis' radical liberals is true courage. (Continued…)
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