Posted on November 18, 2015

Occidental Students Demand ‘No Bulletproof Vests’ for Campus Safety Officers

Joel B. Pollak, Breitbart, November 18, 2015

Students at Occidental College who have occupied an administration building this week have demanded that campus safety officers stop wearing bulletproof vests.

The demand is one of fourteen presented to the administration by the students, who call themselves “Oxy United for Black Liberation.” Other demands include the resignation of university president Jonathan Veitch, the creation of a Black Studies program, and hiring “physicians of color” to deal with injuries “associated with issues of identity.”

The demand for campus safety officers to stop wearing bulletproof vests is a strange one. The full demand is: “Immediate demilitarization of Campus Safety. Includes, but is not limited to: removal of bulletproof vest from uniform, exclusion of military and external police rhetoric from all documents and daily discourse, increased transparency and positive direct connection to the student body.”

{snip}

The students have given the university until Friday to consider their demands. Meanwhile, they plan to continue occupying the three-story administration building.

{snip}

Brenda Gazzar of the Los Angeles Daily News reports that Veitch has the support of the university trustees. She quotes an open letter by Chris Calkins, chair of the Occidental College Board of Trustees: “From the very beginning, Jonathan has focused on creating a more diverse and inclusive institution…He has been tireless in raising money for scholarships; hiring a diverse faculty and staff, and furthering the mission of the college.”

{snip}