Disruptive individuals that frequent campus are going to have a lot more time to explore areas of the valley beyond the U if the U Police Department gets its way.
U police are in the process of creating a bill that will extend the time a person can be banned from campus beyond the current 72-hour period.
The proposed bill is likely aimed at removing homeless individuals with a history of crime or disruption from campus, though this purpose was never publicly stated. However, the ambiguity of their goals and the currently cloudy definition of “disruptive” open the door for abuse.
Those writing the bill should ensure it isn’t a measure used to turn the homeless away from shelter. Sleeping on a couch isn’t being disruptive, and the fact stands that the U is public property. “Disruption” needs to be clearly defined to include only serious offenses, such as theft or repeated nuisance. Even with a clearly and correctly defined bill passed into law, the risk of abuse is high.
The bill should also apply only to those beyond the jurisdiction of U discipline. Using a technicality to ban “disruptive” students from campus would be overkill. Student discipline should be dictated by existing laws and U policies.
Even if the bill’s language were just right, and campus police could ensure it would not be abused, the bill could become a cog in an already crowded legislative session. Every year, worthwhile bills don’t pass simply because the session ended before the legislature could vote on them. The proposed bill might free up the schedule of campus police, but a lengthy argument over what constitutes a “disruptive individual” might be more trouble than it’s worth. Legislators should move quickly if they plan to support the measure.