‘How the hell do we expect them to keep us safe?’: Student groups protest UWPD during President Cauce’s annual address – Dailyuw

Signs laid on the statue of George Washington near Red Square as part of a protest against UWPD during President Ana Mari Cauce's annual address Tuesday. The signs were removed by the next morning.

Black Student Union (BSU) along with Decriminalize Seattle, Black Action Coalition, Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), Black Graduate Student Association, and UAW 4121 led a protest against UWPD on Tuesday morning during President Ana Mari Cauces annual address.

Although Cauce switched the in-person address of the wbaltx Intellectual House to an online livestream due to what Interim Associate Vice President for Communications Jack Martin called staffing and operational considerations, the group continued with their plans to march from wbaltx to the George Washington statue to voice BSUs seven demands for campus equity specifically, the abolition of the UWPD. During the address, Cauce offered to meet with BSU at a later date, saying the venue shift was not a measure to avoid the group.

BSU member and protest leader Stacey Hines opened the event with a speech in front of wbaltx where he expressed Black and Brown students distrust and lack of safety regarding university law enforcement, referencing a June New York Times article about an $8 million lawsuit filed by current and former Black UWPD officers alleging racial discrimination within their police force.

If we cant trust them to keep the peace among themselves, how the hell do we expect them to keep us safe? Hines said. Im not gonna put my life in the hands of UWPD.

Led by Hines and a Black Action Coalition activist known as Trae, the small but vocal crowd chanted 1, 3, 1, 2, ACAB! as they marched into the Quad and Red Square, finally arriving at the George Washington statue, one of several statues that symbolize racist figures that BSU demanded be removed from campus as part of their demands last summer. Upon arrival, the front of the figure had been tagged with the words slave owner.

Its super ironic that they have land acknowledgments everywhere. It's a monument to settler colonialism, a protest attendee, who requested to stay anonymous, said.

As the group moved through campus, Cauce delivered her address based on several campus topics of the past turbulent year from UWs handling of the COVID-19 pandemic to the long-standing concerns of student equity and safety. When asked about the protest calling for total abolition of UWPD, Cauce expressed that their demand was not a viable option as an urban campus like the UW requires at least some armed enforcement.

There's no question that we need reform, Cauce said. We need to look at the culture within our police departments. There's no question that we need work. I just think abolition is not the answer, but there is, I think, a good middle ground that we can get to or maybe not even quite at the middle.

Earlier this year, UW administration committed to several reforms, including cutting the force by 20%, limiting K-9 units on campus, and to stop hiring officers with significant disciplinary histories. At her address, Cauce also committed to expanding its unarmed campus responder program for social and mental health issues in which an armed officer is not needed.

Hines, however, believes efforts toward police reform are not enough. A pamphlet handed out to demonstrators stated that the force is deeply entrenched in cycles of racism and violence that have made police reforms ineffective.

We believe defunding and divesting is not enough, Hines said. You can divest way more if you completely abolish UWPD. UWPD is not needed for the well-being of students, and, if anything, hurts us more than helps us.

Hines and Trae closed the morning rally in front of the tagged statue with a speech referencing BSUs historic student activism, specifically the 1968 sit-in in the office of then-President Charles E. Odegaards office in an effort to meet similar demands for student equity. As demonstrators cleared out, they left their protest signs around the Washington statue. The signs were taken down by the next morning.

UW has and still does to this day try its hardest and its darndest to ignore and silence the voices of marginalized voices that are impacted by the violence that this institution is a part of, Hines said in the speech. We are here to say that history does repeat itself because we will not be silenced, we will not be ignored, and the university will meet the demands of the BSU.

Reach reporter Maya Tizon at news@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @mayacruz_

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'How the hell do we expect them to keep us safe?': Student groups protest UWPD during President Cauce's annual address - Dailyuw