Post by WaTcHeR on Sept 18, 2006 13:30:27 GMT -5
Travis Doyle
Columnist
Do you remember when you used to watch shows like "Sesame Street" or those public service announcements as a kid? They always used to tell you how to act in society, not to talk to strangers, and that if you ever needed help to go find a police officer.
It's sad that things have changed.
I don't know how it happened, but it seems that a jump of ten years made such a difference. Now it seems that most students are afraid of being around police officers and that most police officers hold a negative grudge toward students. I don't know if it is the fact that college students can cause trouble or what, but I think anyone will agree with me that the relationship has changed.
With the WVU vs. Maryland football game in mind, I went around asking students all over campus some questions about a week ago. Most of them I was friends with, but some were just random people. My question was, "How many students do you know who have gotten hurt at a party or football game?"
The overwhelmingly common answer was "none," with just an occasional slight injury that happened because the student involved just got too drunk. There were a few fights, but normally they were broken up before anyone really got hurt. Based on those I asked, it seems that the parties and football games, at least for students, are relatively safe.
After asking that question, I deci ded to ask another question that I thought would help to make my point, "How many students do you know who have gotten pepper-sprayed or injured by the police during a party or a football game?" Once again, the answers were overwhelming.
It seems that these people who are employed by the city and University to serve and protect the students have ended up hurting them more than the students would have themselves.
Almost every student I asked brought up the "clouds of pepper spray" that they had seen during football games where the students had tried to rush the field - enough of the chemical that even students who were still in the stands got hit with the fumes.
This established force, designed to serve and protect, has gotten more students than it has helped. I think that is just sad. I've been told all of my life to trust the police, that they will maintain order and protect the citizens; but in every case that I heard about, students were getting hurt for minor offences that, for the most part, they didn't know were wrong.
I'm not going to tell anyone else what to think, but this is what I've realized: Odds are good that I won't get a fair shake if I have a run-in with the police, so I'm going to try to avoid them at all costs.
I don't feel safe around them, I won't come to them if I need help, and I definitely won't tell them if I see any form of illegal activity. I morally cannot turn in students who might get themselves hurt by the police.
That's like taking a firecracker out of a child's hand and replacing it with a lit one.
www.da.wvu.edu/XMLParser/printstory.phtml?id=23684
Columnist
Do you remember when you used to watch shows like "Sesame Street" or those public service announcements as a kid? They always used to tell you how to act in society, not to talk to strangers, and that if you ever needed help to go find a police officer.
It's sad that things have changed.
I don't know how it happened, but it seems that a jump of ten years made such a difference. Now it seems that most students are afraid of being around police officers and that most police officers hold a negative grudge toward students. I don't know if it is the fact that college students can cause trouble or what, but I think anyone will agree with me that the relationship has changed.
With the WVU vs. Maryland football game in mind, I went around asking students all over campus some questions about a week ago. Most of them I was friends with, but some were just random people. My question was, "How many students do you know who have gotten hurt at a party or football game?"
The overwhelmingly common answer was "none," with just an occasional slight injury that happened because the student involved just got too drunk. There were a few fights, but normally they were broken up before anyone really got hurt. Based on those I asked, it seems that the parties and football games, at least for students, are relatively safe.
After asking that question, I deci ded to ask another question that I thought would help to make my point, "How many students do you know who have gotten pepper-sprayed or injured by the police during a party or a football game?" Once again, the answers were overwhelming.
It seems that these people who are employed by the city and University to serve and protect the students have ended up hurting them more than the students would have themselves.
Almost every student I asked brought up the "clouds of pepper spray" that they had seen during football games where the students had tried to rush the field - enough of the chemical that even students who were still in the stands got hit with the fumes.
This established force, designed to serve and protect, has gotten more students than it has helped. I think that is just sad. I've been told all of my life to trust the police, that they will maintain order and protect the citizens; but in every case that I heard about, students were getting hurt for minor offences that, for the most part, they didn't know were wrong.
I'm not going to tell anyone else what to think, but this is what I've realized: Odds are good that I won't get a fair shake if I have a run-in with the police, so I'm going to try to avoid them at all costs.
I don't feel safe around them, I won't come to them if I need help, and I definitely won't tell them if I see any form of illegal activity. I morally cannot turn in students who might get themselves hurt by the police.
That's like taking a firecracker out of a child's hand and replacing it with a lit one.
www.da.wvu.edu/XMLParser/printstory.phtml?id=23684