On behalf of Rhode Island College, I want to thank the House Judiciary Committee for the opportunity to respond to House Bill 7938 related to Education – Maintenance of Order on Campus. The legislation would mandate the arming of Rhode Island College campus police as well as at the Community College of Rhode Island.
The discussion of arming campus police continues to emerge at Rhode Island College, in the State of Rhode Island and across American higher education. After carefully reviewing the proposed legislation and listening to numerous students, faculty and staff, I would like to offer some thoughts and reflections on the likely impact of arming officers on our close-knit campus community.
As president, my number one priority is the safety of our campus community. When considering this proposal, I weighed the practicality of arming our campus police and took into consideration national best practices and arguments for and against such action. Ultimately, the following observations lead to my position on this legislation:
- Recent national tragedies have once again prompted the discussion of arming campus police. Under current state law, Rhode Island College (with the Post-Secondary Council’s approval) already has the authority to arm campus police. The RIC community has debated this policy for a number of years and to date has not formally requested the ability to arm our officers on campus. In fact, as recently as this academic year, our Student Community Government voted down a resolution to arm campus police and a recent poll indicates that our faculty community overwhelmingly opposes this legislation.
Without question, the college administration will continue to monitor, discuss, and debate this issue as the current environment changes and evolves. Perhaps someday arming our officers will be a necessity to our work but, based on broad campus conversations with shared-governance leaders as well as compelling data, I am convinced it is not necessary at this time.
- In reviewing action taken by the University of Rhode Island in 2015, you might recall that long response times by the South Kingston police department were a significant factor in the University's decision to arm its officers. Because our campus is uniquely positioned and flanked by two of the largest and most robust police departments in the State, Providence and North Providence, the response time of police to our campus is extremely fast. North Providence Police Department estimates a three to five-minute average response time – less than three minutes in an emergency and as little as one minute if the vehicle is closer. The Providence Police Department estimates a two to three-minute response time to RIC's campus. Both departments indicated, depending on the location of a police vehicle at the time of an emergency, response time could be as little at 30 seconds.
- A welcoming, inviting and otherwise open campus environment is a key element of students' academic and overall success. While the intent and purpose of the proposed legislation is to make our campuses safer, the sense of safety of many of our students, faculty and staff could actually be negatively impacted.
- Numerous students, faculty and staff on our campus have expressed elevated feelings of anxiety, fear, and stress when presented with the possibility of arming our campus police officers. Our more than 8,100 students, almost 350 full-time/450 part-time faculty, and 830 staff members should have a say in the environment in which they are teaching, learning, mentoring and supporting the next generation of Rhode Island leaders. Not only does the introduction of firearms on campus not create a sense of safety; it undermines our teaching and learning enterprise as well as our sense of community.
- Today, 70 percent of our graduates stay in Rhode Island, become employed, raise families and significantly contribute to our state's economic base. Similarly, our student profile reflects the rapidly changing demographics of Rhode Island. We have become the most culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse four-year institution in the state. Through conversations leading up to this testimony, it has become clear that for many of our diverse students, this legislation contributes greatly to creating a less safe college experience.
- Today, we are actively promoting a community policing model on our campus, working on building relationships with students as a safety strategy. To date, we have seen greater visibility of officers on campus and more engagement in campus activities and critical work to develop close partnerships with our student leaders.
- As president of Rhode Island's first public college and with over 25 years of higher education experience (on campuses with both armed and unarmed officers), I believe that in the case of RIC's campus, arming our officers is not a necessity in order to execute our educational mission. I do believe, at this time, firearms are most appropriately handled by and limited to local authorities.
- Finally, as a public institution of higher education, we must be vigilant stewards in the use of taxpayer dollars. I am not convinced that the data on response time warrants a significant investment on the backs of our students through increased tuition or realignment of state dollars. In the event the legislation was signed into law, this mandate would demand upfront costs between $155,000 and $200,000. As Rhode Island's state college, we must be accountable and responsible to state taxpayers for the best use of our resources.
This week was particularly difficult on our campus, in light of an incident that ultimately resulted in the arrest of one of our students. Based on the reaction of our campus community, it is clear we have more work to do to better navigate these complex and often difficult campus situations. While I do not believe guns would have changed the response of our public safety officers, it concerns me greatly that the outcome could have been drastically different for individuals involved as a result of such proposed legislation.
Thank you for your consideration.
Yours in education,
Frank D. Sánchez
President
