Sworn Officer Initiative

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The Sworn Officer Initiative was a proposal during Fall Term 2007.

Background[edit]

While it is unclear who originated the idea, various stories propagated by the administration attribute the proposal to either College President Roger Taylor or Campus Safety Director John Schlaf. The plan originally called for both Schlaf and Deputy Campus Safety Director Mack Glass, both former police officers, to be sworn in once again under the oath of the State of Illinois.

Student Senate, spurred by the proposals of Matt Cessna and the firm support of Senate President Brad Middleton, suggested a so-called "compromise," by which only John Schlaf would be sworn in - providing access to the privileged police information, but ensuring that no sworn officer would be conducting regular patrols. College President Roger Taylor agreed to this compromise and told the student body, via e-mail, that he would present it to the Board of Trustees in place of the original initiative.

However, many students were not comfortable with the compromise because they do not feel it is an even deal, as it still gives the department everything they wanted except for one extra officer.

Controversy[edit]

Pro[edit]

The conversation that gave birth to the initiative began over the summer of '07. The proposal should give Campus Safety access to police department information sharing and training. It may also open the department up to the possibility of state funding.

"I believe that any opportunity to receive training and education for anyone involved in public or campus safety issue is not an opportunity that can be missed," said Schlaf.[1]

Some students were not concerned about the initiative because they trust the members of the department (John Schlaf and Mack Glass) who are to be sworn in.

"I know I can trust him," said senior Narissa Montes of Glass. "He has this innate sense of looking out for people."[2] Another student was quoted, "Two officers sworn in? Why not all of them? I would sleep safer at night knowing that our campus is protected professionally."

Con[edit]

Many students expressed distress at the notion of swearing in officers.

"The deputization of Campus Safety officers would result in a cultural change on campus from officers protecting students to policing them," said Student Senate Safety and Services Chair Kelli Refer[3]

An editorial in TKS pointed out that the Galesburg Public Safety Building is one block away from campus. The same editorial also made the point that students may be more intimidated of calling Campus Safety in times of need if they feel the department is more powerful than it currently is. This is especially important in the case of alcohol poisoning, in which other students may be drunk and liable for punishment by the Office of Student Development as it is.[4]

Other students felt that this initiative was representative of a larger disconnect between the administration and the student body.

Student voice[edit]

TKS[edit]

This debate sparked a more deep-seated debate over the strength of the student voice on campus. A Sept. 20 editorial in TKS that was critical of the initiative ended by saying, "The Board of Trustees may have the final say according to the Private College Camus Police Act in Illinois state law, but the students will demand that power here at Knox."[5]

Student Senate[edit]

Student Senate held a meeting devoted to the Sworn Officer Initiative on 27 Sept., 2007. The meeting was heavily advertised in print. The sign, which was posted all over Seymour and elsewhere, cited what were to be considered absurd ideas about the future of Knox (for instance, "Is Knox becoming a fasist [sic] state?") and replied with a picture of Senate President Brad Middleton and a slogan reading, "Brad Middleton says: get the facts at Student Senate!"

John Schlaf came to address the students and answer questions at the meeting, and so approximately seventy non-senators showed up at the meeting. However, because the question section consumed so much time, only a dozen of the non-senators were left by the beginning of the comments section. Furthermore, Schlaf himself left, apparently under the impression that his presence would only hinder frank discussion, despite the fact that most of the students had come to offer their opinions to him.

The remainder of the meeting largely revolved around discussion of the proposed compromise plan. A resolution submitted by Alex Enyart at the 27 Sept. meeting expressing Senate opposition to the Sworn Officer Initiative was finally brought to the floor a week later, and was ultimately defeated 36-15. President Middleton and others in the Senate leadership interpreted this decision as tacit Senate support for a compromise plan, and ultimately presented the Senate to the Board of Trustees as being generally in favor of the compromise.

Student Forum and Petition[edit]

After some students experienced building frustration that the administration was not listening to their opinions on the issue and that the Student Senate meeting Sept. 27 did not accurately represent the student body, an independent student forum was held Oct. 3 in Kresge Recital Hall. Several meeting organizers spoke at the beginning, including Alex Enyart, Kelli Refer, Maddie Ettlin and Ellen Vessels. After these speeches the mic was opened to the attendees. Students expressed frustrations that communication between the decision makers and the student body was not sufficient. Others were upset that neither Student Senate nor any other student body had any official say in the decision.

The Student Forum organizers presented a petition to the attendees, which expressed opposition to the Initiative and also requested more extensive student participation in the Board of Trustees, including six observers from within and outside of Senate who would have a reserved opportunity to speak on issues of interest to the students at each Trustee meeting. Through the Forum and subsequent tabling over the following week, more than 400 signatures were gathered, representing more than a quarter of campus.

This petition was presented to the Board of Trustees by Senate President Middleton, who had previously declared his conviction that the organizers of the Forum and petition were little beyond a fringe element of campus. The Trustees appears to have disregarded the oppositional statement, and addressed the question of increased representation by going into an Executive Session (where, in an instance of exquisite irony, the current student observers would be barred from the meeting). Since no decision was made on this issue at the October meeting, the earliest that additional representatives could take the floor would be in May 2008, shortly before the Class of 2008 graduation.

References[edit]

  1. Sept. 20, 2007 issue of The Knox Student
  2. Sept. 20, 2007 issue of The Knox Student
  3. Sept. 20, 2007 issue of The Knox Student
  4. Sept. 20, 2007 issue of The Knox Student
  5. Sept. 20, 2007 issue of The Knox Student