Groups speak out on police 'bias'

Student minority groups are speaking out against the Division of Public Safety in response to an incident last week in which a black College student was detained, calling it part of a larger trend of bias-based profiling.

This profiling, students say, hasn't always been racial in nature - various groups, minority or otherwise, have been targeted with excessive force and unwarranted escalation in the past, according to groups like the United Minorities Council and Lambda Alliance.

For example, allegations of Penn Police officers using excessive force to control a crowd arose during a Big Man on Campus event hosted by Alpha Chi Omega sorority in November 2005.

Police were called to the scene to help disperse a crowd of 400 to 600 people outside the venue, World Cafe Live. Two students were arrested, and several others were detained and released in the aftermath.

Lambda Alliance chairman and College junior Kevin Rurak said the way police handled that event demonstrated their bias against members of fraternities and sororities.

And, in October 2003, Rui DaSilva, an associate faculty master in Spruce College House, was arrested as he was attempting to bring a set of delivered bicycles into the Quadrangle.

DaSilva, who is black, claimed that race was a factor in the arrest, and student groups agreed.

Charges of disorderly conduct against DaSilva were dropped soon after the incident.

Former University President Judith Rodin ordered the creation of a committee to study general trends within the Penn Police that later recommended that police receive increased training in dealing with race.

But UMC Chairwoman and College sophomore Efe Johnson says the increased training hasn't had enough of an effect.

"There is a perceived element of defensiveness and [an] air of 'damage control' surrounding the reaction to the incidents on campus on the part of DPS," Johnson wrote in an e-mail. "Time after time, there continues to be insubstantial change."

Rurak said his group, along with other minority groups, hopes to start a dialogue with the University administration about biased-based profiling.

He called last week's incident a "catalyst [that] highlighted the broader issues [they] are trying to address."

Johnson echoed Rurak's sentiments.

"Bias is undeniable" in actions taken by the Penn Police, as in all other police forces, she wrote. "Overarching issues of bias-based profiling and excessive force . have been highlighted by incidents at Penn."

DPS spokeswoman Karima Zedan has said no excessive force was used during last week's incident. She has also said those involved were following procedure, and that race was not a factor.

However, Johnson has said that "the element of race in [last week's] issue is undeniable," and that the incident also raised questions of escalation.

And, as she noted, these sorts of questions have been ongoing and have yet to be adequately addressed.

"Similar incidents, both documented and undocumented, continue to occur," Johnson wrote.

Comments (8)

When you ask a uniformed guard their name they tell it to you?

So we're listening to a college sophomore and the gay rights crowd? These are people who are over-sensitized to seeing oppression and discrimination whenever something doesn't go their way. Let's call this what it is: a lack of character. "Throwing a tantrum" is also an acceptable answer.

Isn't this clearly an issue of a poorly trained security guard and guard supervisor? DPS is responsible for this. I would give the police a pass on this one. When told there was a "fight in progress", especially a possible assault on an unarmed guard, I think they did their best and have a very difficult job. Comparing this to the Rui DeSilva incident is a stretch. The guards not giving their name and not letting them in the door CAUSED THIS. DPS must take responsibility for that and not act like nothing inappropriate happened. The student not having his ID did not help things. He should take some responsibilty as well.

The common denominator in the racial profiling by police and security guards and dramatic increase in violent crimes during the past years is the leader.

[QUOTE id="d8837adf-c578-492b-b346-fed6ddcb6d6f"]When you ask a uniformed guard their name they tell it to you?[/QUOTE] Why would the Security guard give her name to a confrontational stranger with no identification on them? If you felt threatened by a stranger, would you give them your name?

Since when is a guard wrong for following procedure? According to earlier articles, the student tried to enter the building after 7PM through an entrance that closes at 7PM. He did not have his Penn card. If the guard let him in she would have jeopardized her job. The fact that he was upset because she was ensuring the safety of students, faculty, and staff shows the student's immaturity. What did he gain by going back to that guard and demanding her name? It sound like a different "R" incident - rage not race. May be the student needs some anger management classes. The guard was doing her job.

When will these poor minority students stop crying? The Penn police stop thousands of people every year and every once in awhile a black student gets stopped, usually for acting like an asshole. FYI, some black Penn students are just assholes and it has nothing to do with race. An asshole is an asshole. Although I agree that the Penn police fucked up the party incident all of the other cases were justified. One problem here is that Mo Rush placates any minority at the expense of the credibility of her officers. This empowers the minority groups to complain at the drop of a hat. Anyway, they need to have been wronged so when they try to be the next Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson they'll have a following. How about this, let the officers do their job, support them, provide relevant training and don't jam it down their throats. Give the minority students a foot and they take a yard. They will always bite you in the ass.

I cannot believe how ignorant some people are. The very fact that you would use the term "these poor minority students" shows that you already consciously don't view minorities on the same level as yourself. If people would take some time to educate themselves and open there eyes, they would see that it doesn't have to be about being "overly sensitized" to anything - tangible acts like racial profiling aside, the psychological differentiation students make between minority and white are clear in these very posts. The fact that a student at this school would actually say "Give the minority students a foot and they take a yard" shows that we clearly have not reached a level of acceptance. That very statement exemplifies the point of minority groups such as the UMC; black students and other minorities are still seen as the "other" and are forced to prove their right to exist in this institution. But if minority students try to educate their peers about discrimination, they're accused of taking more than they deserve - as if we all don't deserve to walk into and out of a building at a school we are all paying for without having our legitimacy questioned. This isn't about the training of security guards or a student whining because he got stopped in the hall. This is about the fact that institutionalized racism had long-lasting effects, such that minorities are still not seen as fully legitimate members of society. If you want to bury your head in the sand and refuse to recognize social injustices, instead of speaking out on an issue that is still prevalent no matter how much we might deny it, THAT is what I'd call a lack of character.

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