After protests rocked Columbia University's campus, President Minouche Shafik is proposing new muscle for the school’s security force, including authority to arrest protesters. In a proposal under discussion, the school would add “peace officers” to its 290 security personnel. The plan could lead to officers with the authority to arrest and physically contact a student. Campus officers can do neither now except under exceptional circumstances, including self-defense, reports the Wall Street Journal.. The cost, quantity of officers and even uniforms are under debate, as is whether Shafik needs approval from faculty or the university’s board. “We seek to strengthen the department’s skills and training in de-escalation techniques, expanding the department’s ability to manage a range of incidents while taking into account the fact Columbia does not have its own police force, as many peer institutions have, and potentially reducing our reliance on the NYPD,” said spokesperson Ben Chang.
Pro-Palestinian protests and other confrontations over the Israel-Hamas war have disrupted classes on U.S. campuses since last fall. Universities have spent much of the summer tightening security protocols and refining codes of student discipline in hopes of avoiding conflict. Columbia’s campus was home to some of the most disruptive protests. Shafik called the New York Police Department to break up an encampment and again to intervene after protesters occupied an administrative building. Officers arrested dozens of protesters.
Her decision was met with condemnation from some faculty who passed a resolution of no confidence in her in May. Since then, school leaders have been unable to agree on whether to enact stricter rules governing student conduct and speech. A sizable minority of faculty has pushed back against proposals for harsher rules, prioritizing tolerance of free speech and political dissent over the prevention of demonstrations on campus The school’s board of trustees is eager to avoid a free-for-all when students return to campus in a few weeks. Some trustees said they are losing faith in President Shafik. Administrators fear that some faculty might strike if tighter security measures are put in place.
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