Students Respond to Public Safety News

Written by Danielle Bettendorf, Living & Arts Editor

On Dec. 3, one week before finals, the campus received an email from President Jonathan D. Green announcing that a limited number of Public Safety officers would begin to carry firearms immediately following the end of the fall 2018 semester. 

Multiple students called the timing poor, especially as an additional stressor. 

“The school cares about … things like grades,” said senior Amanda Gutierrez. “I already know one person who got extensions on some of her stuff. People like me are not going to do stuff like that: people who don’t want to get exempt from finals because of stress.” 

“People aren’t even going to know that they need that kind of help,” Gutierrez continued. “It’s like this is the initial stress: this is everyone thinking of the worst-case scenario happening. [This is] everyone being confused and so taken off guard that we don’t even know how to react … then we have finals and we’re supposed to be okay with that.” 

Sophomore Abigail Antoine also emphasized the emotional toll the announcement took on students. 

“Having to sit there and watch my friends cry about this while they’re crying about finals is even more heartbreaking,” Antoine said. 

First-year Justin Darden pointed out the timing in context of winter break. 

“They wanted to wait until the end of the semester, so we’ll have time to marinate over the winter break,” Darden said. “So this whole idea of [Public Safety] being armed could be normalized and that’s just not the case.” 

Students also noted the abruptness of the announcement and its surprise to many. 

“What sticks out to me the most is the way that it was done,” Antoine said. “That was probably one of the most disrespectful, unthoughtful ways to announce something like that. I never thought that administration would do something like that to students.” 

Junior Kelsey McGuggart said: “Sending out a blanket statement email to students, faculty and parents was not the proper way to announce this new authorization. The fact that students were a mere afterthought in the decision is also appalling to me.” 

“We pay to be here and that should give us a voice but it hasn’t,” McGuggart continued. “We should’ve been included in the entire process and discussion of allowing firearms on campus and we weren’t.” 

Sophomore Israel Collazo-Luciano agreed and said: “We’re the ones who live here on campus … They leave every day. We’re the ones who get stuck with the consequences of this decision.” 

Senior Grace Dunigan said, “I thought it was really unfair that [the Student Government Association (SGA)] got the chance to ask questions and receive answers, but that opportunity really wasn’t presented to the entire body of students.” 

“In theory, every student could come to SGA if they wanted to, but it wasn’t presented in a town hall format, or something like that,” Dunigan continued. 

Multiple students criticized the school for not conferring with marginalized groups on campus, especially when it had the opportunity to do so. 

“This is Susquehanna,” said junior Raven-DaJon Coleman. “Ever since the election has gone down, ever since Ben Shapiro has been on this campus … The shift of this whole university has changed in the last three years. It’s become more racist. It’s become more ignorant.” 

Gutierrez said though Public Safety visited Black Student Union multiple times, the firearm issue was not brought up in any discussions. 

“That’s kind of like a slap in the face,” Gutierrez said. “[You’re] standing there listening to us and asking us if there’s anything you can do to make us feel safer, or anything that bothers us and we’re telling you that as it is, we don’t feel safe and as it is, there’s all these problems.” 

Senior Bianca Moffitt agreed and said that the meetings did not feel genuine. 

“[Angelo Martin, director of Public Safety] came into BSU meetings and asked us, ‘How could we help you?’ Moffitt said. “I feel like it was kind of manipulation and like he really didn’t care. He just wanted to say he tried to build a relationship, instead of saying he genuinely built a relationship and then this is what they did.” 

Sophomore Claire Townsend noted the juxtaposition between the school’s values in context of how the announcement was delivered. 

“[There was] confusion at the word choice, because they repeatedly used the word ‘community,’ even though it was done in a non-community informing way,” Townsend said. 

Junior Robert Marks agreed and said: “Our school is big on the community aspect and I feel like this should’ve been a community-based decision. Considering who Public Safety protects and what their values are, it didn’t match up with the decision.” 

On the day following the announcement, Dec. 4, a protest was held outside Weber Chapel. Participants marched down Kurtz Lane to the president’s house, then to Public Safety and back to the chapel. 

While students expressed their grievances to Green and Martin during the protest, many felt the responses they got were not enough. 

“I feel like at the protest they weren’t actively listening,” Moffitt said. “They already had responses that they already knew they was going to say, instead of hearing what we have to say and then responding to it. It was just always, ‘I appreciate,’ or, ‘I agree with you.’ If you agree, then why would you make the decision? If you agree with what we’re saying, then why would you make the decision to have officers have guns on campus?” 

Senior Aris Concepcion also commented on the administration’s lack of ability to respond to students. 

“[Green] couldn’t say much,” Concepcion said. “He’s not allowed to say much on the matter … He’s limited to what he can say.” 

Darden reiterated the importance of including marginalized voices, especially on personal issues like safety. 

“I have talked with some of my professors who are of color and they share similar distrust of Public Safety and their ability to handle situations as is without them being armed,” Darden said. “I feel like moving forward there needs some … type of conversation, most likely a forum, with all of the Public Safety officers.” 

“I didn’t think about it until recently, how in early November when [Public Safety] actually followed me down University Avenue with me and two other friends, who are also students of color,” Darden said. “It was late at night. They had their lights flashing. They didn’t say anything. They were in those little carts that go around campus and they were on the sidewalk following us until we got off the campus.” 

“I’m only just thinking about what could’ve happened if say, they had a gun,” Darden continued. “Especially with the racial tension we have now, I just don’t think it would be a smart decision to arm Public Safety.” 

Sophomore Malia Simon also said she experienced racial profiling from Public Safety. She described an incident where she was walking to the library and Public Safety turned on their headlights as she approached them. 

“When I got in front of them, they turned on their headlights,” Simon said. “I felt like they were turning it on to look at me, because why else would you would you turn it on … It didn’t happen to turn on right when I walked in front of them.” 

“I shouldn’t feel like me walking around on campus at night as a student of color is gonna be an issue, but it is,” Simon continued. “[After the announcement] I just thought about how I perceived Public Safety and how I know other students of color see them. It’s very different than people who are white or white-passing.” 

Sophomore Rachael Blaine agreed and said: “Seeing that Public Safety car makes me nervous. It makes me nervous now. Seeing it and knowing that someone’s carrying [a gun] in there is even more terrifying.” 

Townsend argued that the school sends mixed messages in the way they approach diversity on campus. 

“If this is a school that wants to express diversity – and they definitely use their students of color as their means of showing diversity … It just seems like a complete disregard for any sense of community and any sense of understanding of diversity,” Townsend said. 

Senior Samantha Borkhoche agreed and said, “Green has tried to make so much efforts towards diversity … It kind of shocks me how he could say that he’s so into diversity and trying to make strides towards that, but then it’s something like this that affects minority students the most.” 

Antoine also emphasized the risks for students of color, even with good intentions. 

“It means that there’s a very likely chance that black bodies could end up dead,” Antoine said. “It means that there’s a lot of opportunity for misstep.” 

“I’m a psychology major,” Antoine continued. “I’ve studied implicit bias and it’s something that happens completely unconsciously. If Public Safety was to walk into a situation with every intention to protect students, with one glance, someone that is not shooting could be dead, just because in their mind they unconsciously attribute blackness or brownness with danger. It takes one trigger pull, no matter how much training you’ve had.” 

“They’re saying they’ve been heavily trained: a lot of the officers who have shot unarmed people were heavily trained, but they didn’t take the time to work where work needs to be done,” Antoine said. 

Moffitt noted the power dynamic between students of color and law enforcement, especially with the addition of firearms. 

“It’s gonna feel like even if I don’t know that you have a gun, I assume that you have one, so it’s gonna make me feel like I’m powerless,” Moffitt said. “It’s gonna make me feel like I have to do what you say, or if I don’t do what you say, you might pull your gun out on me or something like that.” 

“I feel like they are putting more fear in our students than they are putting trust into our students,” Moffitt continued. “I feel like they don’t understand the fact that we are already scared of them and they’re making worse upon themselves … I feel like they just created a problem that did not need to be created.” 

Despite the frustration on campus, students emphasized the power to keep their voices heard and not settle when discouraged. 

“I wanna be a part of the people that are talking about this,” Blaine said. “I wanna keep fighting this and make sure that our voices are heard.” 

 “Your voice is very powerful,” Darden said. “Your voice means so much to a lot of people.” 

“There are a lot of people who have been subject to gun violence who don’t have a voice anymore and you’re on this campus for a reason: to make change and for those who aren’t here right now, who can’t make that change,” Darden continued. “You now have to be their voice. You now have to tell their story. I hope that everyone on this campus … obtains the ability and the power to tell someone else’s story who isn’t alive right now to tell it.”