EXCLUSIVE: University promotes 'Defund the Police?' class
A state university in Indiana advertised to its students a class which contained in its title, "Defund the Police?"
The stated purpose of the class is to “explore the complex history of policing in America from early slave patrols through the civil rights era protest responses to modern-day policing..."
IUPUI sent an email to students advertising a new course, which the email called, “Defund the Police? Race, Policing, and Criminal Justice Reform.” IUPUI is the merged institution from Indiana University and Purdue University campuses in Indianapolis.
Screenshots provided to Campus Reform show Director of Student Services Nicole Amonette announced the late start of the course, saying, “this class will explore the complex history of policing in America from early slave patrols through the civil rights era protest responses to modern-day policing, as part of a broader examination of the explosion of the American criminal justice system.”
“We will examine evidence of racial disparities in criminal justice outcomes for African Americans, LatinX, and other minoritized groups. We will explicitly consider the current roles and functions of the police, use of force policies, and how police discretion is and should be used. We will also review the marked expansion of prisons and jails over the past four decades,” Amonette continues. “Finally, we will examine reforms to simultaneously reduce the size and scope of our criminal justice system and increase public safety, as well as policing reforms to maximize justice for all who live in America, while maintaining public safety.”
[RELATED: WATCH: Stanford group occupies police station grounds to advocate defunding police]
Director of Faculty and Academic Services Denise Scroggins confirmed to Campus Reform that the class topic for the semester is “Race, Policing and Criminal Justice Reform.”
When Campus Reform asked Scroggins about the phrase “Defund the Police” as used in the announcement, she said, “That is part of the class description,” but that “in the official title, we had to shorten it,” due to character length requirements.
“I hope I can take it next semester so I can be more enlightened, just, you know, be more aware about these things, you know, that I’m jumping to conclusions about,” IUPUI Media and Public Affairs student Charity Adebayo told Campus Reform.
Adebayo, who also has been involved with the libertarian student group Young Americans for Liberty, added that it is important for “right-wingers” like herself to make themselves aware of the content of opposing arguments.
“You know, right-wingers, we usually have a tendency to, when we hear things, you know, that are more leftist, we kind of shut it out. But, you know, I would never want to be in the position where I wasn’t being listened to, so I don’t want to do that with the left,” Adebayo added.
Campus Reform reached out to Amonette, the professor who is teaching the course, Thomas Stucky; Director of Media Relations Chuck Carney, Communications Manager Mary Keck, and Indiana University Police Department Community Relations/Public Information Officer April Mantel for comment but did not receive responses in time for publication.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @Jonathan_M_Jr
