Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland established a ‘safe space’ on campus for those students that found the police offensive.
Hundreds of extra police officers were brought to Cleveland to corral crowds and handle protesters. When Case Western Reserve agreed to host the forces in their dormitories, students launched a petition and an anonymous professor penned an angry op-ed.
Much of the fear surrounds the “riot police,” referred to as an imposing single entity in the petition, and their possession of guns. The petition seems to suggest that the students do not trust the police with guns: it calls for firearms to be stored off-campus, officers to be denied from entering any other university building but their assigned residence halls and all alcohol and other “mind-altering substances” to be banned.
The anonymous professor disgracefully cast law enforcement in a negative light, writing, “Case Western Reserve University, which ‘improves and enriches people’s lives through research…and education,’ will be ground zero for the storm troopers you will watch on national news next week.”
The university’s LGBT center and social justice institute aco-hosted one safe space, while the Interreligious Council opened a second space “for those who want to talk or reflect about their concerns.” Counseling services were also available for students and faculty.