Georgetown University students who recently held a community dialogue event on a new proposal to arm campus police told their white peers that they weren’t permitted to attend.
The event, which was highlighted by Robby Soave at Reason Magazine, took place at the end of April and was hosted by the student group, Georgetown United Against Police Aggression.
The event’s description on Facebook explicitly stated that white students would not be permitted to attend, even those white students who share the group’s beliefs about police aggression as a political issue, who the group describes as “allies.”
It’s time to talk. All of us have a story about GUPD. All of us know someone who has been targeted. Let’s do something about it. Come this Tuesday for community and discussion. This space will center the voices and experiences of students of color, allies for the safety of students of color, allies are not welcome to attend this preliminary dialogue.
Georgetown United Against Police Aggression is currently engaged in a battle with school officials to kill a proposed policy that would involve arming campus police at the private university. The group argues that arming campus police officers would pose a threat to minority students. Although Georgetown cops are commissioned officers, some private campuses are starting to consider operating their police departments without guns.
Others students are pushing for armed officers on campus in light of recent school shootings. Another student group, the Georgetown Advocates for Responsible Defense, wrote a letter to the university’s president demanding that he arm the school’s police department so that they are better equipped to handle a potential shooter situation.
“In light of recent events, a reasonably prudent person would make sure the campus police department, like virtually every other police department across the country, had properly trained and armed officers,” the letter reads.
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