This viewpoint is in response to issues concerning the relationship between students and the police force on this campus. For returning Tufts students, the events of the preceding weekends have been indications of a decaying relationship. For first year students, the Tufts University Police Department has probably come to represent a bastion of self-importance and indomitable authority.
From the student's standpoint, frustration is certainly the most prevalent emotion when interacting with the TUPD. As a brother in a fraternity, I understand the importance of public safety and police presence. We know that we need to comply with orders of the fire marshal and the University in order to carry out a social function. However, this semester relations with the Tufts Police force have been strained. Their presence at our house has been disrespectful and uncooperative. Their acts of enforcement have been crystal clear examples of what they are paid to prevent from occurring. For example an officer notices a student drinking a beer from a can and strikes the can with his steel Maglite flashlight. The officer does not verbally instruct the student to stop drinking or even ask for proper identification. I am not familiar with law enforcement techniques; however, this does not seem to be a reasonable solution to what is possibly not even a crime. Unwarranted violence is not a solution, and our attempts at cooperation have led us to an overwhelming emotion of frustration.
Our point is simple, yet the police do not understand it. We service the Tufts student body by inviting them to our house free of charge. Our hope is that students can convene, uninhibited by academic burden, eager to socialize with friends about topics not discussed in Bio 13 or Chem 1. My brothers finance the gathering providing music and beverages. Essentially, this is a typical college get together. We believe that the police do not see the event as such. Their presence is characterized by a power trip. They seem to not understand that we are assembled for the sake of friendship and camaraderie. They act bossy, stubborn, and even vengeful of our good time.
Our house officers fully understand the terms stated in Fire Marshal's "Greek Safety Fire Program." In this program there is a letter from the captains of the TUPD, Mark Keith and Ron Brevard. This letter includes a section entitled "Cooperation with Police Requests," in which our house officers are instructed to fully comply with a TUPD official's request for further assistance. As a house, we fully understand and we fully comply. What is not stated in this paragraph, or the entire program, is a pledge by the TUPD to work together with the house occupants to prevent further police arrivals. We are willing and able to obey the TUPD makes requests of our house, but sadly the converse scenario of the Fire Marshal's program is not true.
I honestly believe that this is a relationship in need of improvement. Furthermore, I will not discount the possibility that this relationship can improve. We understand the importance of the police to our community. We expect them to sit outside our house when over a hundred students are assembled inside. But we do not expect them to infringe on our right to host a social function. And we do not expect officers to ridicule derisively our President's honest attempt at cooperation. When our house president, an economics major, is questioned to estimate the number of guests in the house, he does not expect to be crudely offended by the senior officer. It is rude and wholly uncooperative of the TUPD to make a joke of his economic aptitude and predict his bleak future in the professional ranks. It is counter-productive and outright ignorant of our public safety officials to impede the students' efforts of cooperation. When such is the case, there should be no doubt that the police chief and school administrators need to address this issue.
Listening will prove to be the most valuable tool in forging a new relationship. It will be the conduit towards cooperation between public safety officials and students. Ultimately, two bodies will work together; students kept safe and contented by the TUPD, and the officers honored and favored by the students. But until this small step is taken, then students and the TUPD will face off with each other in a hostile environment.
This viewpoint is an expression of concern. I can only hope that the students, the administration, and the Tufts University Police Department consider it.
James Shatz is a senior majoring in history. He is a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity.
