Students demand input on campaign

Protestors carried signs, chanted through campus

Senior Jason Sill said he was tired.

He was tired of being ignored by the university.

Sill helped organize Monday afternoon's protest to give students the opportunity to voice their opinions on the "Police Yourself" campaign.

"We're ready to be heard," Sill said to about 200 students in front of Shafer Tower. "We're here to try to come up with other solutions."

Sill said the university's campaign should have involved students' input before it was created.

The campaign should incorporate safety tips and educational alcohol-related facts, junior Kristin Miller said. The current campaign is an attack on students because it tells students what choice to make instead of presenting the facts for students to decide.

"Why attack the student body?" she said. "You can't make choices when your university is hammering down on you."

Before the students marched down McKinley Avenue to the Administration Building, Acting President Beverley Pitts told the crowd the university is listening and is willing to meet with them. Pitts said she did not answer students' questions at the protest because no one could have heard her.

"I was there to listen," Pitts said. "We saw all kinds of reactions, and we had a chance to hear from students."

Pitts said she has met with Student Government Association president Ben Tietz, and she is open to meeting with students to answer their questions.

The university has not changed any of its disciplinary policies regarding alcohol violations, Pitts said. However, the university is open to modifying the "Police Yourself" campaign from changing its name to providing students with safety tips.

"It is certainly an educational campaign," Pitts said. "It's all about making good choices. We want a safe environment for students."

In front of the Administration Building, the students shouted "We want answers" and "Protect Each Other."

Sill said administrators needed to come out and answer students' questions.

No one from the building came out to address the crowd. However, Tietz, who arrived late, spoke to the students.

"I am here to represent the student body," Tietz said. "I'm here to listen to you."

Tietz said he was not at the protest when it began at 4:30 p.m. because he was in a meeting with Sarah Atkinson, student representative on the Presidential Search Committee. He left the meeting early to join the students, he said.

The students marched from the Administration Building to the University Police station. A few students placed a handmade poster "Protect Each Other" in front of the police station door.

Tietz said if students want their voices heard by their student representatives they should come to the SGA meeting at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday.

SGA is sponsoring a public forum at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Teachers College Room 102. Representatives from the mayor's office and Muncie Police Department will be there, Tietz said.

Pitts said she will not be there because she is attending funeral services for sophomore Jennifer Pokorny. Randy Hyman, dean of students, will be there to answer questions.

"I hope students have a voice in the polices that affect them," Sill said. "This is about us, not me."


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