Barnard College investigates confrontation between public safety officers and a student at Black Columbia University



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The school hires an independent investigator to review the incident and issue a public report containing recommendations, according to a statement released Sunday by Barnard President Sian Leah Beilock.

"The confrontation highlights what some members of the Barnard College community, particularly people of color, have said about their relationship with the Office of Public Safety and the lack of confidence they have in ensuring their safety." security, "said Beilock. . "We need to ensure that public safety officers act fairly for all and that the community believes this will happen." This work is ongoing, starting today. ; hui ".

The officers involved in the incident and their supervisor were put on administrative leave while awaiting the results of the investigation. The school also examines how public safety officers and supervisors are trained.

Beilock apologized to the Columbia University student involved, unnamed, and to the students who attended Thursday's incident – the latest racist encounter in the United States involving a student and campus security. Last May, the police were summoned to investigate a Yale black student who had taken a nap in the common room of her dorm.

Barnard College is a women's school belonging to the network of Columbia University.

The history of the student Columbia

The details of the incident were not described in the statements published by Barnard. WPIX, affiliated with CNN, has spoken with Alexander McNab, who identified himself as Columbia's student in the video and said that he had come to Barnard in search of & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; A meal.

"I saw that someone had posted an hour ago about the food in the Milstein center, that building there, so I decided to go to the campus of Barnard to see if there was any food left, "McNab told WPIX. "And I started hearing someone say" Hello, sir! Hello sir! & # 39; "he said.

The WPIX reporter asked McNab "Do you think you do not fit what they perceived – the public security officers – a student from Columbia University?"

"No," McNab replied. "And the reason I say that, is because there were other people, even people we talked to that night, and then a session of. listening also took place the next day, during which students spoke – who said that they had come after I did, no? and were not arrested by anyone . "

Live in black

Barnard's policy is to require anyone entering its doors after 11 pm to show student identification – a practice that was established in 2013, according to Rochelle Ritchie, executive director of news and strategic communications at Barnard.

"In the future, we will ensure that our policy is consistently applied and effectively communicated in accordance with our values," said Ritchie.

In a video of the incident provided by Caroline Cutlip, student at Barnard, McNab can be heard telling public security officers to "take my hand" on several occasions.

You can hear an officer reference showing a piece of identity. McNab appears pinned to a counter during the showdown.

McNab says "let me show you my ID card, do you want to see my ID card? I'm a student at Columbia University, see you, that's me .. . "

"This is the third time that Barnard, the public safety officer, is pursuing me and you're putting my hand in. I did not touch you for anything …" says McNab in the video.

Barnard's answer

The president of Barnard said the school was forming a security group that would serve as a forum for dialogue between public safety officers and supervisors and the Barnard community. It will be led by the school's Executive Director of Equity and will include students, faculty, staff and outside experts as needed.

Barnard is scheduled to have a listening session on Tuesday night. He held a similar session on Friday and was in touch with those who came to share their ideas and experiences.

"What has emerged is a widespread feeling that racial prejudice remains pernicious on our campus," Beilock said. "In particular, people of color have expressed a sense of exclusion or uniqueness in campus life, in the classroom and, of course, in the treatment of public safety.

Columbia sophomore said that his speech on the superiority of the whites was

"I mean directly that I hear you and that I am determined to change."

Beilock added that school policies must be applied equitably, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, identity or gender expression, orientation sexual or national origin.

Cutlip, Barnard's junior who filmed the meeting, told CNN that she thought the agents involved should be disciplined and that the training received by public safety officers would Was not enough.

"They should be subject to disciplinary action in the future, otherwise the officers will say" that's good, "she said, referring to how the officers treated McNab.

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