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Campus Police Presence Not Healthy for Development, Astor Says

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Social Welfare Professor Ron Avi Astor was mentioned in a Southern California News Group article about the controversial presence of armed officers on school campuses. Many school districts in Southern California have armed officers on their campuses despite opposition from parents and students. In September, 18-year-old Mona Rodriguez was fatally shot by a school safety officer in an off-campus parking lot in Long Beach. In that school district, non-sworn officers are able to carry guns, batons and pepper spray but do not have arrest powers. Other school districts have their own police departments or have contracts with police and sheriff departments. According to Astor, a heavy police presence can adversely impact the school climate. “Very heavily armed schools prime the kids in those schools to think of the place more like a prison,” Astor explained. “Militarizing and turning schools into things that look like prisons is not healthy for development. It’s not healthy for identity.”

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Terriquez on Understanding White Privilege

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Associate Professor of Urban Planning Veronica Terriquez co-authored an article in the Conversation explaining what white privilege is and why understanding the concept is important. White privilege is both the obvious and hidden advantages afforded to white people by systemic forms of racial injustice, the authors wrote. The police killing of George Floyd in 2021 ignited a wave of protests across the globe and intense discussions of anti-Black racism, including the concept of white privilege. The authors noted that “unpacking how whiteness operates to bestow privilege may allow us to understand how ‘others’ are systematically denied those same rights.” Critics have argued that “white privilege” is a term that “reinforces stereotypes, reifies conceptualisations of race, antagonises potential allies and creates even greater resistance to change.” However, Terriquez and her co-authors described the term as an important tool for advocacy to critique systemic racism and global anti-Blackness.

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Trust Is Easily Shattered, Leap Says

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Adjunct Professor of Social Welfare Jorja Leap appeared on a Fox11 News panel discussion about the growing fight for social justice in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and other Black victims of police brutality. Watching the cell phone video of Floyd’s final moments was like “watching a home movie that I was sorry to see,” Leap said. “Why are we watching this again and again?” Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of Floyd’s murder, but the fight against systemic racism continues. “What was so upsetting about recent events and what happened in Minneapolis that had affected people here is that trust is so easily shattered,” Leap said. “We need real change … so that people can feel safe.” The panel discussion took place after an episode of the documentary series “Rising Up” that focused on parallels between the Floyd case and the 1991 beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police.

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It’s Like Reliving History, Yaroslavsky Says

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Thirty years after the video of the brutal police beating of Rodney King went viral, Los Angeles Initiative Director Zev Yaroslavsky spoke to USA Today about the killing of George Floyd and the jarring similarities between the two events. A group of white police officers who beat King in March 1991 were acquitted the following year by a mostly white jury in Los Angeles, prompting massive unrest and calls for social reforms. At the time, Yaroslavsky was a Los Angeles city councilman. Last year, Floyd’s death in Minneapolis prompted protests led by the Black Lives Matter social justice movement, and the police officer involved is now on trial for murder. “What happened that instant, on that sidewalk, at that moment, that was not a one-off. It’s a story that has replayed itself for decades, over and over again,” Yaroslavsky said of Floyd’s death. “When I look at what’s happening in Minneapolis, I see L.A. in 1992, so it’s like reliving history again.”

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Steinert-Threlkeld on Rise of Alt-Right Forums

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Assistant Professor of Public Policy Zachary Steinert-Threlkeld spoke to Dot.LA about the role of social media platforms leading up to the invasion of the U.S. Capitol. While some mainstream social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram have made efforts to crack down on President Donald Trump’s false rhetoric, alt-right forums including Parler, Gab and theDonald.win have promoted calls for violence and rebellion. There’s been a shift away from mainstream sites like Twitter and Facebook to alt-right platforms as stronger moderation policies have been implemented, Steinert-Threlkeld explained. Over the last two years especially, supporters have turned to far-right online platforms for “tactical coordination,” he added. Steinert-Threlkeld identified similarities between the use of real-time online platforms in the organization of protests in Iran in 2009 and among Trump supporters today. He also said many supporters are probably having private conversations in closed and private groups on Facebook or through encrypted messaging platforms.

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Protests Bring Lasting Change, Zepeda-Millán Says

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Associate Professor of Public Policy Chris Zepeda-Millán spoke to AP News about the long-term impact of protests. Studies estimate that over 15 million Americans have taken part in demonstrations decrying racial injustice following the death of George Floyd. While it’s too early to gauge the impact of current protests, a look at the history of U.S. activist movements — including calls for women’s suffrage and civil rights — highlights the victories that have been achieved through protesting. Zepeda-Millán weighed in on a 2006 bill seeking to classify undocumented immigrants as felons and penalizing anyone who assisted them. The bill was shut down in the Senate after millions turned out to protest against it. Zepeda-Millán credits the protests for both stopping the bill and encouraging voter registration among Latinos. However, he said the protests also intensified congressional polarization, dimming prospects for any immigration overhaul and citizenship for undocumented immigrants. 

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Zepeda-Millán Sees BLM Protests as Inspiration for Latino Activists

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Associate Professor of Public Policy Chris Zepeda-Millán was featured in a New York Times article about the role that Latinos have taken on in the Black Lives Matter movement. Both Black and Latino communities have been affected by police violence and systemic racism, even though the national focus of ongoing protests has chiefly been about the impact on Black Americans and the ways white Americans are responding to it. A recent poll by the New York Times and Siena College found that 21% of Hispanic voters said they had participated in Black Lives Matter protests, nearly identical to the 22% of Black voters who said they had done so. “Many Latino youth, they are making the connection, they are pressing their families to have difficult conversations,” Zepeda-Millán explained. For many liberal Latino activists, the Black Lives Matter movement and current wave of protests serve as a model and an inspiration.

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Kaplan on Inequalities Underlying Gun Violence

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Social Welfare Professor Mark Kaplan was cited in an 808 Opinions blog post about the exacerbation of gun violence during times of crisis. The post argued that economic hardship and social unrest as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have incited fear and panic. It also pointed to a rise in shootings, online ammunition sales and processed background checks for firearm purchases. The author cited a presentation by Kaplan that tied gun violence to racial and socioeconomic inequality in America. “You hear all about poverty, but inequality is another measure of economic well-being,” Kaplan said. “There is a strong correlation between homicide per million and income inequality.”

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Weisburst on Effect of School Police Presence on Student Success

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Assistant Professor of Public Policy Emily Weisburst was featured in Christian Science Monitor and LAist articles about the changing role of police officers in schools. Nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd have prompted a rethinking of policing in schools as authorities debate how best to keep students safe and treat them fairly. “We are devoting a lot of resources to police in schools, and there can be protective benefits to that, potentially,” Weisburst explained. “But there are also really big potential costs that I think we need to be concerned about.” Weisburst’s research on the relationship between grants to fund police in schools and educational outcomes for students at those schools found statistically significant drops in the graduation rate and college enrollment rate for students at those schools. “When students are disciplined, their attachment to school decreases,” she said. “That can translate in the longer term to a lower likelihood of graduation.”

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Leap on Police Role in Enforcement of Social Distancing

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Adjunct Professor of Social Welfare Jorja Leap spoke to NBC News about accusations that police have targeted minorities more than white protesters for social distancing violations. For example, demonstrators outside the Otay Mesa Detention Facility on April 11, who were protesting conditions faced by detained immigrants, received citations for violating stay-at-home orders and “unlawful use of horn.” However, no citations or arrests were reported at predominantly white beach protests a week later in Encinitas and San Diego. Authorities in San Diego and Los Angeles have enforced stay-at-home orders by issuing a few citations to protest organizers after the agencies were criticized for allegedly unequal enforcement, the report said. According to Leap, the LAPD has shown restraint in its enforcement of social distancing regulations. “The community itself is enforcing stay-at-home,” she said. “The LAPD, thankfully, they have been working with communities, especially communities of color.”

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