Has anyone at the University of Oregon looked at what has been happening in downtown Portland for the last few days?
Campus Reform reports:
University of Oregon begins disarming policeThe University of Oregon is disarming a significant portion of its police force.In a letter to the campus community, University of Oregon President Michael Schill reflected on “recent incidents of police violence against people of color” that have led to a “healthy” conversation about law enforcement’s duty to serve “ALL of the people in our communities.”Though the university will not disband or entirely disarm its police force, it will “reduce the number of armed UOPD officer positions by 26 percent” while increasing the number of “unarmed community service officers.”Future hires will occur “in accordance with our campus values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.” These unarmed officers will patrol campus instead of the armed police officers.In order to make them “appear more approachable and non-threatening to the campus community,” the unarmed officers will wear “easily recognizable attire” in place of police uniforms.The university vowed to hire “a consultant with expertise in policing and diverse communities” to work with the campus community in developing additional police reform proposals.Schill expressed gratitude that University of Oregon Police Chief Matt Carmichael has “unequivocally denounced police brutality” and “leaned into a dialogue” about reforming the school’s police force.
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