BUZZ
Not exactly great timing: Demands university’s surveillance systems be ‘shut down’
The University of Missouri Young Democratic Socialists of America recently protested a multi-level law enforcement operation in the college’s hometown of Columbia that netted 32 felony arrests.
According to The Maneater, about 50 members of the group gathered on December 11 at the campus Speakers Circle, and then marched to city hall to protest “federal overreach” in the town.
The group’s primary complaint is Columbia and the university sharing surveillance information with federal agencies such as Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It demanded that Mizzou’s Flock Safety surveillance systems be “shut down.”
The YDSA “specifically” singled out “Operation Brightside,” a November “federal, state and local law enforcement” endeavor that resulted in 32 felony arrests, “19 federal indictments, 21 felony state warrants and six residential search warrants.”
Demonstration organizer Izn Hasan noted in a pre-protest statement that “This operation lays the groundwork for ICE intervention in Columbia, and allowing DHS to use our city’s resources is an open invitation.”
Hasan accused Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe and University of Missouri System President Mun Choi of “using [a] false narrative of widespread violent crime” to allow ICE in the city.
Natalie Hosto of the Stand Up 4 Students coalition expressed concerns about Choi’s “encroachment into the political sphere,” noting “we are not just going to sit back and let it happen.”
“The fact that Mun Choi, someone who’s not even an elected official in our offices, knows about all of the happenings in Columbia before our city council is honestly appalling,” Hosto said.
@comissourian Starting at Speakers Circle on the University of Missouri’s campus, Mizzou YDSA held a protest throughout downtown Columbia. Video by Madyson Carruth #fyp #themissourianway #protest ♬ [Raw recording] Record playback noise 01 (3 minutes) – Icy Light
Mizzou spokesman Christopher Ave responded by saying “The success of the university and its students depend on Columbia being safe and welcoming. Reducing crime is a responsibility shared by all who call Columbia home.”
Back in May, roughly 100 face-masked/keffiyeh-wearing activists associated with Stand Up 4 Students had gathered to protest the Students for Justice in Palestine’s removal from Mizzou’s homecoming parade, the university mandating the Legion of Black Collegians change the name of its “Welcome Black BBQ,” and Executive Order 51, which requires Mizzou employees to cooperate with law enforcement. Protesters carried placards reading “Melt ICE,” “Choi loves the GOP not his own students,” and “Defnd [sic] free speech.”
The issue of surveillance cameras has been brought to the fore following the murders of two Brown University students. Officials have noted the building in which the killings took place lacked adequate surveillance coverage due to “the structure’s age,” Fox News reported.
A security consultant and former NYPD detective told CNN that Brown’s total of 1,200 security cameras offers “almost non-existent” coverage given the campus’ total area of 146 acres.
MORE: Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine upset ‘From the river to the sea’ chalking removed
