Read on Twitter
I have been hearing some complaints and confusion regarding the @umich @geo3550 strike and our policing demands — specifically, some saying that these are “unrelated” and we should “stick to covid demands.” I want to explain how actually, these are intimately connected issues.
For starters, not only does covid have a disproportionate effect on Black and Latinx populations, who are also at greatest risk from overpolicing, but overpolicing ~increases~ the covid risk of these populations by regulating where people live and how they move, and therefore,
their access to resources, such as medical care.
“But Ann Arbor is a wealthy town,” you say. “Resources here are great.” Unfortunately, there are racial biases in the sorts of medical care offered to Black and Latinx populations ~everywhere~
“But Ann Arbor is a wealthy town,” you say. “Resources here are great.” Unfortunately, there are racial biases in the sorts of medical care offered to Black and Latinx populations ~everywhere~
And to top it off, UM administration has actually used covid as an excuse to INCREASE policing — an inappropriate policy at the heart of our demands — by forming an “ambassador” program where students and police officers enforce university mask and gathering policies.
This program is messed up on several levels. It shifts the burden of responsibility (and blame) to students, instead of administration (whose job it is to keep students safe).
Furthermore, it recklessly increases the chances of exposure of the Black student population to police violence; who do you think the police will stop first for policy violations?
UMich has therefore created a situation that is doubly dangerous for Black students:
Black students are most likely to receive inadequate medical care if hospitalized with covid19, and most likely to be — potentially violently — targeted by police officers invited to campus under the guise of “safety.”
This is unacceptable.
#StrikeForSafeCampus #UMMakesUsSick
This is unacceptable.
#StrikeForSafeCampus #UMMakesUsSick
