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Students at Monroe Community College in New York are objecting a decision to allow campus safety officers to carry long rifles on campus. Some students held a protest rally on Monday to voice their opposition, Rochester First reported.
News 10, an NBC affiliate, showed students marching with signs that read “our campus, our tuition, our choice” and “don’t militarize MCC.”
David Mills, a student, told the outlet that long guns were “way too intimidating.”
A statement from college officials on Monday afternoon noted that the college’s president, DeAnna R. Burt-Nanna, announced the change at a Board of Trustees meeting on Jan. 29 after “a college-wide consultation in the fall of 2023, where the administration met with various stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students, the Board of Trustees, and County Executive Adam Bello.”
The statement said that process included a public presentation by the college’s chief public safety officer and the public safety training facility dean. The student government also issued a letter in support of the decision after consulting with students, according to the statement.
The statement said that “peace officers at MCC receive the same training and certifications as our local police through the Police Academy at the Public Safety Training Facility” and that they “will use these weapons and secure them consistent with local law enforcement policy, out of plain sight, unless a violent critical incident arises where their use becomes necessary.” The statement also said that “MCC’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion principles remains a component of our public safety training.”
The statement also acknowledged students’ right to “free speech and peaceful assembly.”
