Spring break was not enough to cool the simmering campus controversy over whether police at Binghamton University should be armed with Tasers.
For the first time, the Student Association involved itself in the dispute by voting unanimously Monday in support of a resolution requesting an “open forum” held between students, administration and Binghamton’s New York State University Police.
The resolution calls on SA President David Bass to “work on organizing an open forum in conjunction with University administration.” It also states that “the Student Association formally opposes the unilateral decision to arm UPD with Tasers.”
“I think the sentiment is that with a change such as Tasers, students should have been at least notified,” said Matt Landau, the SA’s vice president of Academic Affairs and president-elect. “We’re not saying that we should be part of every decision … with something as controversial as this, I think that it’s fair to have a forum or at least to have a discussion.”
In a statement, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students Lloyd Howe said, “We would be interested in seeing the resolution but any decision to hold a forum would be determined by senior administration.”
The resolution was passed only after extensive revision. The original draft was written by Bass and a group of activists following a Feb. 25 Town Hall meeting about Tasers, which was hosted by the Experimental Media Organization.
The draft originally called on the University to increase the quality of its counseling services — a response to the administration’s assertion that Tasers are necessary because of recent campus violence. The request was dropped before the resolution was presented to the SA.
Four other controversial clauses were removed before the final unanimous vote. One read, “The United Nations has deemed the use of Tasers as a form of torture.”
The others, respectively, said that Tasers provided force at a “higher physical level” than batons and pepper spray, that the health effects of Tasers were unknown and that the weapons “present a negative physical response to Binghamton students.”
Landau said the changes were a matter of efficacy in dealing with BU’s administration.
“We’re making nice to them, and it might get a better result,” Landau said.
Stephanie Plude, an activist who was present when the resolution was originally drafted, said she understood the need for diplomacy, but still took issue with the removal of the clauses.
“They were facts: The U.N. does say it’s a torture device, Amnesty International does say that it kills this many people and it’s a danger,” she said.
On Wednesday, Plude was one of a small number of people invited to a meeting that brought together representatives of the UPD, administration, anti-Taser activists and members of the Student Assembly. Also present were Howe, Bass, Assistant Chief of Police Bill Dunn, Student Assembly chair Eric Katz and EMO member Basheer Bergus.
Plude left the meeting with some confidence that an open forum would be held this semester, she said. Though Dunn expressed concern that the forum could turn into a “roast” where the UPD and the administration would face unfair criticism, the tone of the meeting was respectful.
“Maybe in the past we’ve had roasts,” Plude said. “But in this SA’s experience and the past few years we’ve had very well-contained and respectful forums.”
The resolution follows a sustained campaign by a group of students to remove Tasers from the UPD’s arsenal. The students cite a 2006 Amnesty International study that concluded Tasers are potentially lethal and have played a role in over 150 deaths.
On March 11, activists, composed largely of members of the EMO and BU’s Amnesty International Chapter, delivered over 100 letters signed by BU students to members of senior administration, calling for the removal of Tasers. They say they have received no response.
The police force was equipped with Tasers in June 2007 on the advice of Dunn and Vice President for Administration James VanVoorst. They say Tasers are an important non-lethal tool for police.