In the wake of nationwide unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody, college students are calling on administrators to cut ties with local police, a demand that is largely left unfulfilled.
The call to end relationships with police has increased since the University of Minnesota agreed to break most of its partnerships with the Minneapolis Police Department. The university, in response to a student-led petition, said it would no longer contract the department for additional support at large events or specialized services.
“So if someone has committed a crime against someone in our community—let’s say a robbery—we contact the NYPD to respond to and investigate the crime,” said Beckman. “Our officers are not armed; if there is a situation that involves an armed person—say, an active shooter—we would turn to the NYPD.”
A similar demand has been rejected at the University of Louisville, Kentucky. In a letter to the Black Student Union, university president Neeli Bendapudi said the university police department will not end its relationship with the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD).
“Your request for us to immediately terminate our relationship with LMPD would not make our campus or its constituents safer, and it would be an insufficient answer to a very complex problem,” Bendapudi wrote. “The harder work in a necessary partnership is to change, mold and evolve the partnership and the partner to best facilitate the university’s need without compromising our values.”
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