portland state u

Campussafetymagazine.com
By Robin Hattersley-Gray August 18, 2020

​"Portland State University (PSU) campus safety officers will no longer carry guns when they are on patrol. The announcement that was made on Thursday cited the ”disproportionate impacts and unacceptable loss of life that policing has on Black people and people of color,” as its reasoning for the change in policy. “Over the past few weeks, we have listened to many voices across our campus,” PSU said in a statement. “The calls for change that we are hearing at PSU are ringing out across our nation. We must find a new way to protect the safety of our community, one that works to dismantle systemic racism and promotes the dignity of all who come to our urban campus.” Although PSU officers will no longer carry firearms, they will continue to be sworn officers with investigative and arrest capabilities. They will also carry tasers. When armed response is required, the Portland Police Bureau will provide assistance."

I was a campus safety officer for Academy of Art University in San Francisco from 2008-2016 and we were not armed. We treated everyone fairly and would have done so whether armed or not.  That's true across the board. As you can see from the PSU statement, charges of racism are political and go unsubstantiated. My university was urban but, hey, they were dedicated art students, not time-wasters.