Racial profiling on campus

A PANEL organized by campus administrators and student groups at the University of Southern California (USC), in cooperation with campus police and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), turned out about 1,200 people concerned with racial profiling on campus.

The controversy centered on the LAPD's detainment and arrest of students at a house party on May 4, which was attended by a predominantly African American and Latino crowd--when on the same night, just across the street at another house party, attended by a predominantly white crowd, police only told attendees to remain indoors.

Students also said that the police used excessive force and intimidation--including the deployment of 79 officers in full riot gear--to deal with the party. The LAPD say that four students were arrested for failure to disperse, the investigation was ongoing, and much evidence, including police videos, still had to be examined. The LAPD assured the media and the campus community that LAPD was conducting the investigation with "robust oversight."

Rikiesha Pierce of USChangeMovement led the meeting with an impassioned introduction, giving a summary of the incident on May 4 and presenting panel members. She apologized to those outside who weren't allowed into the auditorium because there wasn't enough room, directing them to the USChangemovement.org website for more information about the particulars of the discussion.

USC law professor Jodie Armour opened the discussion with comments about how problematic a race-based assessment of a person's "dangerousness" can be.

USC administrator Michael Jackson said that the incident ended relatively peacefully, but admitted that psychological damage remains. He urged students to keep a sense of calm, and added that a "positive result" of the incident would be that USC must have a stronger relationship with the community.

WITH THAT, the panel took questions from the audience. Police representatives addressed concerns about the unnecessary use of force by saying that not all evidence has been examined, and that the police have their own videos, supposedly showing resistance and throwing of bottles.

An LAPD representative said that the department acknowledged the issue of race in the incident, but that it didn't think this pwas an instance of racism. LAPD panelists confessed that they needed to learn more about the dynamics of a college campus. They also claimed that the last 10 years have seen a transition for the LAPD.

From the audience, Nate Howard, the student who threw the party where the incident occurred, made an impassioned plea to the panelists to "Stop all the bullshit!" and called for firings at the LAPD and the campus Department of Public Safety (DPS).

He expressed his disgust with both departments and said that he didn't want to talk to representative from either, encouraging students to make change, not the police. Openly weeping, Howard urged unity so that we can make change ourselves.

Sarah Tither-Kaplan, a student who threw the party across the street where no arrests occurred, said that lots of things weren't being reported and that racism was being denied. She noted that students were seriously hurt, disrespected and herded. She also said she heard one officer say, "This was a big waste of time!" and another officer call a student "nigger."

Both Howard and Tither-Kaplan were loudly applauded following their remarks as students in the audience expressed anger at police actions.

A student questioned the actions taken to ensure student safety, suggesting that safety of students was selective, and that it seemed the safety of students at the predominantly white party across the street was a priority.

Another student from the party across the street contradicted the police report, noting that police didn't address their party first. At their party, students were told to stay indoors, admitting that their party was equally loud, and had not been registered with DPS. He questioned the necessity of excessive force and intimidation tactics by the LAPD.