You've probably seen the headlines recently regarding the backlash that my school, Case Western Reserve University, has been receiving from the students about housing a couple thousand law enforcement officers for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this week. Just to list a few:
"Students Scared of Cops on Campus Force University to Take Drastic Measures During RNC Convention" ("Heatstreet")
"WHAT’S A UNIVERSITY FOR? CASE WESTERN SUDDENLY SHUTS DOWN TO HOUSE RIOT POLICE" ("BeltMag")
"'Delicate Snowflake' Students Protest Cops Staying on Campus for RNC" ("Fox News")
"College at Odds With Students Over Plan to House Police for Cleveland Convention" ("NY Times")
The "New York Times" published an article about this. The New York Freaking Times. All because the university is doing something that practically every other local college and university is doing.
Sure, the news recently hasn't put police in a good spotlight, but it hasn't put protesters in a good light either. But the claims from students about their personal safety being compromised because of 2000-some police officers being on campus for 5 days? Utterly ridiculous.
Last I checked, the vast majority (should be all, but recent news takes away from that) of police officers in this country do their job for one purpose and one purpose only: to ensure the safety of citizens. Whether or not you believe this is up to you, but that's the truth.
I've been seeing Facebook posts shared with these various headlines talking about how threatened the person feels that they're surrounded by police officers. And it's posts like this that earn headlines like "Delicate Snowflake Students" and get mocked by news outlets. I'll preface this by saying I won't be voting for Donald Trump, if that idea had crossed your mind. Well, here's what I have to say regarding these officers on campus:
Thank you. Thank you for taking the time out of your regular job area and time to be here in Cleveland to keep everyone safe. I've had people tell me to leave town or go somewhere else, but in reality, it's pretty safe here. Without you, officers, Cleveland would surely have erupted in violence and upheaval. If you were not here, I'd have surely gone somewhere else, because the lack of your presence would make Cleveland extremely dangerous during this notorious convention. I, for one, cannot speak on behalf of some of my fearful peers, but I can say confidently that I, along with many others, appreciate that you're in Cleveland this week.
