So Much for that "Post-Racial" Society
Last week a student was arrested in the reg. So clearly if a person is arrested in this beautiful post-racial, progressive, and inclusive society, then it must be some just cause. Right? Witnesses say that this 5’6 black senior at University of Chicago was “wrestled to the ground and put in a headlock.” This must mean that he was threatening someone’s life or at least doing something minutely illegal. Right?
Wrong.
The student walked into the library and was told he was too loud and if he didn’t quiet down, then the police would be called. The Chicago Maroon reported that the student was arrested in the basement of the library—where usually everyone is loud. He was charged and spent a night in jail because he refused to show officers his identification or leave the library for unruly behavior, witnesses deny that police asked the student for ID or that the student was causing a disturbance. They also said the arresting officer was inappropriately aggressive.
Here is a comment that one of the ignoramus students at University of Chicago left on the Maroon Website.
“There is justice in the world! That guy is extraordinarily loud and obnoxious. We can only hope that this sets a new precedent for the treatment of people who routinely disrupt the academic sanctuary of the library, rendering it veritably uninhabitable for the likes of the studious and the civilized.”
I didn’t realize being loud and obnoxious was a means to arrest someone. This situation is about more than one student in the library. This brings to light and surfaces the stories I heard as a prospective student, the experiences I had as a first year student, and what I continue to hear from others now as a second year. This outrage is about how the police treat students of color on this campus. It is a symbol of why police-black and white- slow down when they see a black or brown male walking down a street in Hyde Park. It is a representation of what needs to change at the University of Chicago. Last year I was just walking down the street (in front of my dorm, Max) and I got stopped by the UCPD and they asked to see my I.D. Some say this is protocol, but my question is if I was a white student doing nothing else but walking down the 56th street would I have been stopped then?
Tonight I attended the community forum, which was held by the University in the name of talking with administration about what was being done about the situation.
There was a new police chief who didn’t realize situations “like this” happened, a scapegoat assistant director of the library (the director apparently had “previous engagements”), and the staff member of student campus life. Between the three all I really heard was how unfortunate the situation was, how they are going to do some investigating, and how they are going to look at all the “facts” and decide what to do. In other words, no solution was made. Some students were talking about protesting in front of the library, but I personally think action needs to be demanded on an administrative level.
Well, so much for that post-racial society people were all excited about.
Man, agree with everything your saying. Down with Racism!
Man, agree with everything your saying. Down with Racism!
I agree with you completely when you say that some action needs to be taken on an administrative level. While I do think that blatant protesting does have its merits, the problems that exist at the university exist purely at a bureaucratic level. There is very little representation of black students in the student government for instance. In this day and age black students have the opportunities to work themselves into the system, those students need to start taking advantage of that opportunity and working from that.
I agree with you completely when you say that some action needs to be taken on an administrative level. While I do think that blatant protesting does have its merits, the problems that exist at the university exist purely at a bureaucratic level. There is very little representation of black students in the student government for instance. In this day and age black students have the opportunities to work themselves into the system, those students need to start taking advantage of that opportunity and working from that.
Thank you for your comment Aaron, I think it is important to for students on this campus to /not/ treat this situation as a joke, and continue to take serious more than just the concerns of one student in the library, but the the stories of dozens of students that shared their experiences relating to the University of Chicago Police Department. For those who were at the community forum, it was clear that something needs to change, and it needs to start on an administrative level.
Thank you for your comment Aaron, I think it is important to for students on this campus to /not/ treat this situation as a joke, and continue to take serious more than just the concerns of one student in the library, but the the stories of dozens of students that shared their experiences relating to the University of Chicago Police Department. For those who were at the community forum, it was clear that something needs to change, and it needs to start on an administrative level.
As a black man, I respectfully disagree with Jonathan’s post. If we want to be afforded respect, we must act in respectful ways; and it sounds like Mauriece was acting in ways contrary to the library’s policies and disrespectful to the other patrons. Perhaps he wouldn’t have been arrested if he were white–no one can say for sure. But regardless, we can’t demand equality and then use that equality to act like fools. We need to take the first step in gaining equality, and that first step requires acting well. Mauriece’s behavior only reinforces the image of us blacks as disruptive and not academically serious, an image which we should be trying to repudiate in our deeds. I have no sympathy for him; he ought to have been arrested.
As a black man, I respectfully disagree with Jonathan’s post. If we want to be afforded respect, we must act in respectful ways; and it sounds like Mauriece was acting in ways contrary to the library’s policies and disrespectful to the other patrons. Perhaps he wouldn’t have been arrested if he were white–no one can say for sure. But regardless, we can’t demand equality and then use that equality to act like fools. We need to take the first step in gaining equality, and that first step requires acting well. Mauriece’s behavior only reinforces the image of us blacks as disruptive and not academically serious, an image which we should be trying to repudiate in our deeds. I have no sympathy for him; he ought to have been arrested.
What I want to reiterate is that this situation is much less about one student in the library, and much more about the 1st year that gets stopped walking to reynolds club, the graduate student who gets harassed for leaving his ID at home, and my personal experience of being stopped because I looked “suspicious.”
What I want to reiterate is that this situation is much less about one student in the library, and much more about the 1st year that gets stopped walking to reynolds club, the graduate student who gets harassed for leaving his ID at home, and my personal experience of being stopped because I looked “suspicious.”
I am white, and I have been asked for my ID by the UCPD a few times on campus at night, when I was just sitting on a bench on campus or walking home from the library. In all cases I complied. Maybe there is a racial disparity, and black people or Hispanic people get stopped slightly more often; but anecdotes alone do not validate this concern. In order to have any right at all to claim racism, you’re going to need some data. After all, without this, might I not claim with equal validity that people of German descent get stopped unfairly often? (I do actually have a few friends who happen to be of German descent who have been stopped; I could gather a fair amount of anecdotal evidence.) And is being asked for an ID on private property really that demoralizing?
I am white, and I have been asked for my ID by the UCPD a few times on campus at night, when I was just sitting on a bench on campus or walking home from the library. In all cases I complied. Maybe there is a racial disparity, and black people or Hispanic people get stopped slightly more often; but anecdotes alone do not validate this concern. In order to have any right at all to claim racism, you’re going to need some data. After all, without this, might I not claim with equal validity that people of German descent get stopped unfairly often? (I do actually have a few friends who happen to be of German descent who have been stopped; I could gather a fair amount of anecdotal evidence.) And is being asked for an ID on private property really that demoralizing?
Robert, thank you so much for your comment. And to a certain point, I definitely agree with you. As a political science major, I have learned that anecdotal evidence is one of the weakest methods to present an argument. So I think I will have to start collecting data. And I am confident that this data will show that black men on this campus get stopped considerably more than any other demographic. (most would assume this to be true without data). But thank you again for your comment, you have inspired me to discover the actual hard facts in this situation.
Robert, thank you so much for your comment. And to a certain point, I definitely agree with you. As a political science major, I have learned that anecdotal evidence is one of the weakest methods to present an argument. So I think I will have to start collecting data. And I am confident that this data will show that black men on this campus get stopped considerably more than any other demographic. (most would assume this to be true without data). But thank you again for your comment, you have inspired me to discover the actual hard facts in this situation.
Here is a section of the last article the Chicago Maroon did on the community forum. It explains how Dawson did a survey of the room to see how many people have experienced or know someone who has experienced racial profiling. It is no coincidence that more than half the students who raised their hands were black.
The Chicago Maroon:
“I feel like the discourse went well, because students who have been keeping silent for a very long time were able to bring their problems around experiences with UCPD,” Dawson said.
Concerns over Dawson’s case and other potential cases of racial profiling dominated proceedings. Around 50 attendees raised their hands when Dawson asked how many felt that they, or someone they knew, had been racially profiled by UCPD officers. More than half were black. “This is not an isolated incident,” Dawson said.
Here is a section of the last article the Chicago Maroon did on the community forum. It explains how Dawson did a survey of the room to see how many people have experienced or know someone who has experienced racial profiling. It is no coincidence that more than half the students who raised their hands were black.
The Chicago Maroon:
“I feel like the discourse went well, because students who have been keeping silent for a very long time were able to bring their problems around experiences with UCPD,” Dawson said.
Concerns over Dawson’s case and other potential cases of racial profiling dominated proceedings. Around 50 attendees raised their hands when Dawson asked how many felt that they, or someone they knew, had been racially profiled by UCPD officers. More than half were black. “This is not an isolated incident,” Dawson said.
You don’t think that there might be a selection bias at a forum organized to rally against the arrest of a black student? Anyway, white people who are asked out of the blue for their IDs aren’t likely to consider it racial profiling, are they?
You don’t think that there might be a selection bias at a forum organized to rally against the arrest of a black student? Anyway, white people who are asked out of the blue for their IDs aren’t likely to consider it racial profiling, are they?
I agree with you, but I believe the proof in racial profiling would be the percentage of people asked. Hypothetical situation: lets say black people are only 7 or 8 percent of people at the University of Chicago, which would make black men only 3 or 4 percent. If I could prove that in all the cases where the police asked for any students identification, over 50 percent were black males. Would you see that as a problem? Some people in the comment section on the Maroon site were justifying racial profiling, would you agree with that?
I agree with you, but I believe the proof in racial profiling would be the percentage of people asked. Hypothetical situation: lets say black people are only 7 or 8 percent of people at the University of Chicago, which would make black men only 3 or 4 percent. If I could prove that in all the cases where the police asked for any students identification, over 50 percent were black males. Would you see that as a problem? Some people in the comment section on the Maroon site were justifying racial profiling, would you agree with that?
It’s an honour posting comments on your website
It’s an honour posting comments on your website