Confirming Contract for Cops on Campus
Despite questions from students and staff, San Jose Unified stands by the idea that police are essential at school.
By Joelle Gendzel
Despite questions from students and staff, San Jose Unified stands by the idea that police are essential at school.
By Joelle Gendzel
As students and staff members voice their concerns over school resource officers on the Pioneer campus, San Jose Unified School District has decided to retain its contract with the San Jose Police Department, keeping police officers on high school campuses for the foreseeable future.
The Derrick Sanderlin Resolution, presented to the SJUSD school board on Aug. 25, calls for the termination of the district contract with SJPD and outlines plans for the reallocation of the funds used to support this contract. The board voted unanimously to retain the contract, not following the resolution. Prior to the vote, 78.34% of SJUSD community member respondents to a survey sent on Sep. 3 agreed with the statement “I believe San José Unified should continue to use SJPD officers as School Resource Officers.”
Principal Herbert Espiritu signed onto a letter with five other SJUSD high school principals prior to the vote voicing their support for continuing SJUSD’s contract with SJPD and keeping School Resource Officers on campus. Espiritu retains that the use of SJPD school resource officers is the best way to create a safe learning environment at Pioneer, despite the criticism voiced by some students and staff.
“My number one job is to keep students and staff safe. The second part of that job is to make sure that there is an environment conducive to learning” said Espiritu. “SRO’s keep students safe. SRO’s create a positive learning environment for students.”
Chanel Sulc, English teacher, feels that police on campus have the opposite effect, especially on students that identify as Black, indigenous or people of color. In her view, schools do not need or benefit from having a police presence on campus.
“Schools are spaces that should not be policed. Many students, especially BIPOC students, have had negative interactions with police officers and having them on campus makes school feel unsafe” said Sulc.
Without the removal of resource officers from campus, social studies teacher Jake Hernandez believes starting a more open conversation between students and police is the best strategy for improving safety at Pioneer.
“If there is a concern, let’s have a conversation with teachers and admin being mediators. The answer is not to just get rid of the cops,” said Hernandez. “What are we telling our students? The public is going to have to deal and interact with police officers for their entire life. We should not label all police officers in a negative way.”
Police presence on campus was especially prevalent during Gender Sexuality Alliance-led lunchtime protests against the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Angelina Tran, 11, witnessed an interaction between a GSA member and a school resource officer who was barring protesters from entering a meeting that made her and other GSA students uncomfortable with police on campus.
“During a peaceful protest that the GSA led, some of our members had an argument with a police officer,” said Tran. “Many of our members were scared something was going to escalate further since the police officer had his hand on his belt.”
While school resource officers are placed on the Pioneer campus to protect students, not all students feel this protection. Sulc agrees all students are not necessarily offered equal protection from officers on campus.
“I have heard from students that they have experienced racism, homophobia, and transphobia from officers on campus,” said Sulc.
If all students do not feel safer with police on campus, Tran questions what purpose they serve. While Pioneer will continue to have a police presence, increased dissatisfaction from the community with this presence will remain an important part of the conversation.
“Students shouldn’t have to be scared of police on a school campus when they should be feeling safe,” said Tran.
The Derrick Sanderlin Resolution, presented to the SJUSD school board on Aug. 25, calls for the termination of the district contract with SJPD and outlines plans for the reallocation of the funds used to support this contract. The board voted unanimously to retain the contract, not following the resolution. Prior to the vote, 78.34% of SJUSD community member respondents to a survey sent on Sep. 3 agreed with the statement “I believe San José Unified should continue to use SJPD officers as School Resource Officers.”
Principal Herbert Espiritu signed onto a letter with five other SJUSD high school principals prior to the vote voicing their support for continuing SJUSD’s contract with SJPD and keeping School Resource Officers on campus. Espiritu retains that the use of SJPD school resource officers is the best way to create a safe learning environment at Pioneer, despite the criticism voiced by some students and staff.
“My number one job is to keep students and staff safe. The second part of that job is to make sure that there is an environment conducive to learning” said Espiritu. “SRO’s keep students safe. SRO’s create a positive learning environment for students.”
Chanel Sulc, English teacher, feels that police on campus have the opposite effect, especially on students that identify as Black, indigenous or people of color. In her view, schools do not need or benefit from having a police presence on campus.
“Schools are spaces that should not be policed. Many students, especially BIPOC students, have had negative interactions with police officers and having them on campus makes school feel unsafe” said Sulc.
Without the removal of resource officers from campus, social studies teacher Jake Hernandez believes starting a more open conversation between students and police is the best strategy for improving safety at Pioneer.
“If there is a concern, let’s have a conversation with teachers and admin being mediators. The answer is not to just get rid of the cops,” said Hernandez. “What are we telling our students? The public is going to have to deal and interact with police officers for their entire life. We should not label all police officers in a negative way.”
Police presence on campus was especially prevalent during Gender Sexuality Alliance-led lunchtime protests against the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Angelina Tran, 11, witnessed an interaction between a GSA member and a school resource officer who was barring protesters from entering a meeting that made her and other GSA students uncomfortable with police on campus.
“During a peaceful protest that the GSA led, some of our members had an argument with a police officer,” said Tran. “Many of our members were scared something was going to escalate further since the police officer had his hand on his belt.”
While school resource officers are placed on the Pioneer campus to protect students, not all students feel this protection. Sulc agrees all students are not necessarily offered equal protection from officers on campus.
“I have heard from students that they have experienced racism, homophobia, and transphobia from officers on campus,” said Sulc.
If all students do not feel safer with police on campus, Tran questions what purpose they serve. While Pioneer will continue to have a police presence, increased dissatisfaction from the community with this presence will remain an important part of the conversation.
“Students shouldn’t have to be scared of police on a school campus when they should be feeling safe,” said Tran.