Public Safety assumptions about race cause problems for student
Editor:
I am writing to you regarding an incident that took place on Oct. 5 between 10:30 and 11:00 a.m. that has me very upset and extremely concerned.
A group of five gentlemen were standing out front of the cafeteria somewhere near the stairs. There were several groups around the same area doing the same thing as these men. An officer drove by, parked his car, and got out of his vehicle to approach this group. He proceeded to tell these guys to show him their IDs questioning their right to be on campus, asking them if they were students, telling these students that they could be “potential drug dealers.” He told them that they could not stand out there so the guys went on about their business.
What has me so upset about this situation is this: Why, if there were other groups of people in the same place, were these guys the only ones asked to show ID? Why was the question about drug dealing even an issue? What was the reason for the harassment of these gentlemen? I hate to think that a person was bothered or harassed because of race, but it is definitely a thought in this situation.
These gentlemen were African American males and we all know what that means: “Potential Drug Dealers?” WHAT!!?
Certainly they would not of been selling drugs in front of the cafeteria between 10:30 and 11:00 a.m. Did they fit the description? Of course they did. Any African American male who is with a group of friends must be a drug dealer. NO!! Did they talk in a way offensive to the officer? We’re they dressed in a way that was deemed inappropriate by the officer? Did they fit an anonymous description of a drug dealer? This is all absurd. The fact is they were harassed for minding their own business in a way that several others sought out to do at that very time.
What is this saying to the students of Georgia College? By all means don’t stand with a group of your friends on a beautiful day being happy. And definitely don’t fit the description of a “potential drug dealer.” Because obviously these guys did just that. I find this incident very ridiculous.
Just in case there is any question, I am not of African American descent. I am just a friend that happens to believe in everybody being treated fairly. I believe in standing for what is right and for what I believe, and I believe that how these guys were treated was completely unnecessary. I am here to tell you that for whatever reasons these guys were treated like this, it was completely ridiculous and disrespectful. And I am willing to let others know that I am certainly not willing to sit back and let it happen to them again.
Thank vou,
Carol’Anne Adame
GC&SU Student
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 15 2004. Filed under Opinion.
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