Racial profiling by police forces across the nation is a sad reality. While the Middletown Police Department was within its jurisdiction to break up a large gathering on Fountain Avenue last month, criticisms of the response have raised questions of profiling. While is impossible to quantify the exact reasoning behind the events of that night, any accusations of racial profiling must be addressed. The issue inspires a larger dialogue, which we now turn to the reality that racial profiling is not just done by the police.

Students should unquestionably call public safety or police when they feel unsafe, but reasons for reporting a suspicious person, implicit or explicit, should be considered more carefully. There have been instances in which students have called Public Safety to report “suspicious” persons of color in academic buildings at night. When public safety has responded, the “suspicious” people turned out to be students of color. No student should feel unwelcome on campus, be it in the classroom, studying at the library, or attending a party. And students, police, Public Safety officers, administrators, and staff members all play an equal part in making a welcoming campus for all.

We applaud Ujamaa and the WSA for taking swift action through the proper administrative channels to convey discontent over these issues to the campus and Middletown community. We also applaud President Bennet, Dean Cruz-Saco, Dean Teraguchi, Dean Mike Whaley and the administration for quickly acknowledging the problem voiced by students and working for a solution.

Dean Teraguchi has helped to organize dialogues on issues of diversity, a good idea that is representative of exactly what the dean of diversity should be doing. In working to improve race relations and eliminate racial profiling, administrators and students are acting not only as members of the University community, but also as citizens of Middletown.

As far as the presence of Middletown Police on campus, we ask that the officers respect students and refrain from unnecessary trailing or profiling. We appreciate the presence of police when the goal is to protect people, and especially in light of the recent stabbing, we realize the necessity for police officers on campus. Students, however, need to remember that Public Safety officers are not here to shield us from police or arrests. We live in a city, and it is the police, not Public Safety, who have the ultimate jurisdiction.