Campus Police Chief Clarence Birkhead responded to long-standing student dissatisfaction with the security policy for on-campus events last week when he issued a draft of the previously unwritten guidelines. But many students had hoped the written document would include changes to the existing policy and not merely reiterate the status quo that they say discriminates against non-residential groups, especially minority organizations.
"Most of us just don't understand. Were our concerns heard at all? Were they taken into consideration?" asked Trinity junior Jasmin French, Duke Student Government vice president for student affairs.
Birkhead stressed that now that the policy has been drafted, he is ready to entertain suggestions for adjustment. "[This draft] is very close to the way we currently do business," he said. "Up until this time, we had not written it. We've taken this opportunity to write down the way we currently do business and solicit comments and feedback for how to modify it."
But students maintain that the guidelines are exceptionally vague and do nothing to alleviate their concerns about what they call the Duke University Police Department's expensive and unfair policies. At a small meeting late Monday night, students gathered to discuss their aggravation with the draft; a larger group will reconvene next week-before meeting with police-to sketch a list of their problems with the policy.
"We didn't want the B.S. put in writing. We wanted the policy changed and then put into writing," said Trinity junior Kelly Black, of the Duke chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Under the current system, non-residential groups registering with the Event Advising Center must undergo a DUPD security assessment and hire the recommended number of security guards. However, guards are optional for residential groups holding events in their dorms.
For many years, students have questioned the policy, saying that minority groups without housing are frequently required to procure more security-including guards and metal detectors-for their social functions.
According to the draft, DUPD takes several factors into consideration when determining how many police officers an event requires. Those factors include the history of the event, estimated attendance, time of day, location, alcohol distribution, money collection at the door and extent of advertising. But the policy does not specify how the criteria are weighted.
"Is it DUPD's discretionary power?... What tells them we need six [officers] at one event and two or none at another?" asked Trinity senior Damani Sims, president of the Black Student Alliance.
Birkhead acknowledged that DUPD applies its security policy on a case-by-case basis. "Every event is slightly different," he said. "There is some degree of discretion in how we staff those events, even in the same venue."
Instead of assessing each event somewhat subjectively, French suggested that DUPD create a chart of general guidelines on the level of security required for different types of events. "How [can] student organizations prepare for what type of expenses they'll have if there's no science or rule to it?" she asked.
French was also concerned about the cost of mandatory security. Security officers cost $35 per hour, and non-residential organizations can receive reduced rates for two events each year. Vice President for Student Affairs Janet Dickerson said Duke already partially subsidizes the fee.
Still, Sims said, "It takes away a lot from the budgets.... It really hits the students' coffers hard." Sims and French suggested that the University offer a larger subsidy, an option Birkhead said he might discuss with Student Affairs.
But students are not only frustrated by the obvious financial burden. "For certain student groups to be charged and others not to-I think that's really unfair...," Sims said. "That's a clear discrepancy and I think it transcends the policy. Minority student groups do not have the privilege of having designated programming space. Other groups do have this luxury."
The disparity between residential and non-residential groups exists because of a distinction between public and private space. "It has been our practice not to enter into commons rooms unless we detect a problem and need to address it," Birkhead said. "Commons rooms are considered private space, and for that reason we try to respect that as such."
But several student leaders argued that this distinction is arbitrary. "One of the biggest aspects in the [safety] of students is whether alcohol is distributed," said Trinity senior Tiffany McConnell, president of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. "Alcohol is included in residential living spaces; it is a problem. A lot of [fraternity] parties do spill onto the quad and anyone can come from on campus or off campus."
Police say that many more partygoers come from outside when the event is advertised off campus, as are many parties hosted by the minority organizations. "Off-campus publicity, in general, increases attendance, which could increase incidents," Birkhead said.
But Sims said the University is primarily concerned with the racial composition of a crowd, not its size. "It is always perceived that minority organizations are bringing in an outside element," he said. "We attract students from a lot of historically black colleges. Most of them are fine. It's perceived that they will cause trouble.... All the parties I've attended have had people from other schools. I don't see any other reason why there should be such fear about having these people at our events."
French noted that most on-campus parties bring in outside guests, but that the numbers are more apparent at minority functions. "We as students know there's only an 8 percent black population," she said. "When you arrive at an event where there's a greater number than what you expect, it's noticeable that they're not Duke students."
Sims and French requested evidence that non-Duke students frequently cause problems while they are on campus, but Birkhead said those numbers do not exist.
Dickerson added that the relationship between police and many non-residential groups is becoming more productive. "Communications between minority students and the police are reportedly improving because there is acknowledgment of the grievances, and more efforts are being made to hold face-to-face conversations...," she said. "There is still some distance to go, but students have been assertive about their concerns and the police are being responsive."
Still, students continue to say there is room for improvement. "In terms of having a stated concrete policy to look at..., it's a start," Sims said. "But by no means can this be the end."
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