Ellington

The proposed relocation of the UWPD across from the Ethnic Cultural Center (ECC) is being reconsidered after students expressed concerns over the past week.

A forum last night gave students the opportunity to voice these concerns directly to UW administrators.

At the forum, students said the proposed site, directly across from the ECC, would inhibit future growth of the center and take away from the home-away-from-home feel.

“Students don’t feel comfortable around police officers, and students won’t feel comfortable going to the ECC with a police station right across the street,” said Helen Fillmore, president of First Nations at UW. “If they don’t feel comfortable there, then where will they feel comfortable expressing their cultural needs?”

Presented among four other recommended sites to UW senior administration, the parking lot of the Instructional Center (IC) met the UWPD program needs, said Rebecca Barnes, university architect. Other sites included two options next to the entryway of Memorial Drive and one south of Gould Hall between 15th Avenue Northeast and the Ave.

Barnes, who was a member of the committee that proposed these sites, said the location was the most cost-efficient, central to campus, and embedded in university life. The site is also central to crime trends on campus, UWPD Chief John Vinson said.

“We’ve had a higher concentration of crimes occurring west of 15th, which makes it really ideal to have highly visible police quarters in that particular area,” Vinson said. “It also allows us to be a lot more embedded in the fabric of the community interactions.”

Students at the forum, however, were more focused on the new station’s proximity to the ECC. Citing the current investigation of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) by the Department of Justice, Roxana Garcia, director of ASUW La Raza, said minority students feel uncomfortable with police due to recent incidents.

“I want to make very clear that members of our communities do not differentiate between UWPD and SPD; police is the police,” Garcia said. “The ECC is a communal space in which students and non-students can engage in dialogue around issues surrounding our community. This is our safe space on campus which has yet to be inclusive and welcoming to all students.”

Multiple students at the event said they personally experienced confrontations with the police they felt were unnecessary. Senior Russell Monteiro said that he has been stopped by the police on 10 different occasions.

“I don’t have any bad opinions against any police officer. However, I think, culturally from our community, you have to understand that we don’t feel comfortable with having the police station next to our new ECC,” Monteiro said. “If you think that I am going to be happy as an individual to have that police station next to my building, I’m not going to stand for it — by any means necessary.”

In addition to making current ECC members uncomfortable, Sierra Stewart, president of the Black Student Union, said she was concerned about the effect it would have on other students’ participation at the ECC and the IC, where students can receive free tutoring.

“This being our home-away-from-home and having the police there … kind of messes with your psyche,” Stewart said. “If students don’t feel comfortable coming over to the ECC and the IC where these resources are there for them, what does that do? It creates a ripple effect into their academics.”

Stewart was also among many students who voiced worries about the ECC’s ability to expand with the new UWPD across the street.

“These are places that are already in a very small environment,” she said. “If there is no chance to expand, then how can we best serve students of color on campus?”

After hearing students’ concerns, Eric Godfrey, vice provost for Student Life, said administration has placed the decision about a new location on hold. The plan is to reach out to a small group of students to help reevaluate all possible locations.

“We were hoping to leave here tonight with a deeper understanding of your concerns, and, in that regard, this has been very successful,” Godfrey said, “and this has been very helpful for us.”

Reach reporter Jillian Stampher at news@dailyuw.com.