Police intimidation

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving a forum was staged in the Indiana Memorial Union’s Walnut Room regarding the tumultuous relationship between the campus policing force and the student body.

As the conversation evolved, the widespread sentiment that students feel intimidated by the policing force emerged. Furthermore, not only did the students feel intimidated by the police, they also felt that the police force was “out to get them,” rather than assist them.

When asked, students at this forum stated they would hesitate to call the police if a friend were in need — especially in regard to alcohol — because they would fear getting in trouble.

Many started to believe that if students were taught their rights, including the Hoosier Pact and similar legislation, and the police profiled students less and worked more to benefit the well-being of the public, a happy medium could be obtained.

This issue is extremely important to address because a lack of communication and understanding between both sides will continue to cause hostility and further disrupt the IU community.

In order to have a rich living and learning environment, a balance needs to be reached where students can feel safe and unintimidated at the same time.

 ­— rzakarian@indiana.edu