I agree with a lot of the sentiments that you, Brett, expressed in your recent Wespeak. I agree that Public Safety has shifted its objective away from protecting the community, towards policing for its own sake–a change I personally deplore.
However, I think it is extremely important to direct criticism specifically to these enforcement policies and procedures instead of attacking the existence of the institution implementing them.
First, you say the following: “We are now paying a group of people to make sure the police know that we are doing things that are illegal. This would be unthinkable in any other sort of community where individuals pay a central administrative system to provide them with food, housing, and a social environment.” I find this statement to be downright irresponsible. While I agree that calling the police over less than two grams of pot is ridiculous, there are possible incidents that merit police involvement. Theft and sexual assault, though not rampant at Wesleyan, still occur and should be subject to police investigation. I seriously doubt you would disagree with this.
Second, you say, “The Office of Public Safety has recognized that it is incapable of protecting us from danger but is widely capable of interfering in our community…” Citing the fact that a Public Safety officer would be ineffective against some hypothetical assailant with a gun does not prove that they do not contribute to keeping our community safe. I know of several times when Public Safety drove students with symptoms of alcohol poisoning to the hospital. While not the traditional police fare, I think these serve as examples of Public Safety helping students in distress.
Overall, like Brett I call for the administration to stop doggedly pursuing evidence of student wrongdoing. I advocate, instead, simply responding in a timely and appropriate fashion to direct threats to the safety of Wesleyan’s students, staff, and faculty. Rewriting the Code of Non-Academic Conduct would be a positive step in this direction.
But I think that harboring a paranoid (or worse, belligerent) attitude towards Public Safety as an institution will only make things worse. Although the scope and manner of enforcement this year has to an extent solicited this demeanor, it is a two-way street. The more overtly hostile we, the student body, act towards any enforcement of University rules, the greater incentive we give the administration to treat us like criminals. And it is that kind of treatment that both the administration and students must refuse to accept if Wesleyan is to continue to be a good learning environment.
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