I was pleased that our campus community could come together with Hamilton Police and Campus Safety.  However, I was deeply disturbed by the outcome of this brown bag. The event demonstrated for me the extent to which these groups are separated by a lack of true communication. An actual engaged level of communication is necessary for the betterment of public safety in our communities.  In order for that to happen, Hamilton Police and Campus Safety must acknowledge the ways in which their institutions have been constructed by white communities to protect white communities.  This has created a country-wide system of public safety which does not adequately consider the needs of many populations. Such a standard is not acceptable here nor anywhere else. This is not something passive racial sensitivity training on its own can rectify.

I call upon individuals to critically evaluate the institutions they serve, and take seriously reports of racial prejudices and racial biases by these institutions to people in our community. We all must strive to create a better system which takes into account the needs of all of its members, not just a few. We must all be held accountable, especially those of us (myself included) who are of privileged identities.