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While I find myself in recent weeks singing the praises of Oxy to the hordes of prospective students roaming about the campus, I am still conflicted to present such a positive outlook on our community when I find my peers abused and mistreated by other members of the campus.
I’m sick and tired of careless treatment and abuse of power by certain campus safety officers. While some may do an excellent job and understand their role in fostering a safe and respectful community, others have spoiled their efforts time and time again. Recently a participant in Relay for Life-who just so happens to be a black male-was repeatedly harassed and requested that he demonstrate some form of ID. Although he was wearing his official “Relay” shirt and wristband, he was repeatedly questioned about his belonging to the event and forced to produce his Oxy ID. While “belonging” is essentially subjective, I could easily describe other incidents throughout the years, and you can trust me that this was not necessarily exceptional.
While we welcome students of color here to visit, (and I applaud the Office of Admission’s recent MVP program) I find it hard to tell them, (especially the black males, of whom there are already so few of us here on campus) that they will most likely be treated as strangers, unwelcome between the shining peaks in our ivory towers.
Just because an officer may not carry a weapon, their tendency towards racial profiling on campus should be no less regarded and problematized. Even with our multicultural curricula, and relatively ethnically diverse campus, I realize after my four years here that some of us will always be the “intruders of higher education.”
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