I hope this helps a bit. In the past I have worked on high-fidelity audio circuits with limited bandwidth. Our minds are capable of filling in missing sounds using context. Low-bandwidth audio, like typical phone circuits, rely on this. By themselves, words can be hard to understand. It’s kind of like the whole “Yanny or Laurel” controversy.
Words that require a high-frequency component but sound similar can be confused. "Him/her would be identifiable by context and the easily discernible vowel sound. He/She may sound similar enough to be confused. I doubt the caller, given that she called her “her,” ever doubted the student was female.
“Get involved by becoming more security conscious,” Smith College says in its guide to campus safety, “and [report] all incidents of suspicious or criminal activity, no matter how insignificant, to Campus Police immediately.”
It explains that “suspicious behavior” isn’t always articulable.
“Sometimes, callers are unable to identify what is suspicious about a person, and often the person about whom a concern is filed is . . . here for legitimate purposes.” But even if there are “innocent explanations,” it says, “your campus police department would rather investigate these situations sooner rather than be called when it is too late.”
So the employee did as instructed . And is now put on leave. What they thought was a male asleep in a public space on a campus of women called campus security And the matter was quickly and professionally taken care of.
Should the employee have handled it themselves? Maybe, maybe not. It’s always easy to make those calls after the fact.
@sciencenerd–if I believe a photo I saw of the event is correct then they weren’t “just sleeping on the couch” --more like sprawled out in a public space. You don’t get to sleep in public spaces.
In fact on Kanoute’s facebook page is someone of color who is an alum who worked with the police officer who responded to this incident. She said it’s not the first time police have been called to get students up–including herself at one point. You don’t get to sleep in public spaces.
This woman admits there is racism on campus–but not in this instance.
Not worth it, anomander. There is no benefit to the employee for calling for anything, and a very large possible downside. The message is loud and clear, and I am certain has been received. Same allegations of racism could be made regardless of future facts, and in the present heated environment, it appears unlikely a calm discussion of the context will ensue. Look at this thread.
That the employee was placed on leave seems very unfair. The employee reported that someone sleeping on the couch was out of place because there was no one else in the building. Given the time, about 20 min after closing, and the fact that the dining hall might have been pretty empty in the summer even when ope, that is certainly possible.
According to The Boston Globe, this is what Smith own safety manual advises:
“Get involved by becoming more security conscious,” Smith College says in its guide to campus safety, “and [report] all incidents of suspicious or criminal activity, no matter how insignificant, to Campus Police immediately.”
It explains that “suspicious behavior” isn’t always articulable.
“Sometimes, callers are unable to identify what is suspicious about a person, and often the person about whom a concern is filed is . . . here for legitimate purposes.” But even if there are “innocent explanations,” it says, “your campus police department would rather investigate these situations sooner rather than be called when it is too late.”
Given Smiths guidelines I think the employee has grounds for a lawsuit if fired.
If we’re going to insist that you don’t get to sleep in public spaces, then maybe that should be spelled out, and students should start reporting all students who do so?
“If you see something, say something” has taken on new meaning, maybe fueled by the same fear that causes people to report parents who let their children walk to the park on their own. Common sense is becoming less and less common.
Common sense could have prevailed. Employee had concern, reported it, police addressed appropriately. If student was concerned that there was an improper motive, the student had ample means to address that through a responsive student Dean, who could have approached the supervisor, the employee, etc., engaged in fact finding, and likely educated and resolved the whole incident. Good communications would have gone along way toward resolving this happily for all parties, but that won’t occur thru Twitter or YouTube posts.
According to a Boston Globe article, the employee thought the sleeping on a couch was suspicious because he mistook this female student for male. So at an all women’s college, a man sleeping in a building might raise suspicion. Race was not mentioned in the initial call to report the incident
Race is often not mentioned in the call, because the callers don’t want to call attention to the fact that race is the reason behind their fear. The mother who called campus police in Colorado on the two Native American young men tried to avoid describing them by race, although she said they told her they were from Mexico (after claiming they weren’t forthcoming about who they were - they had in fact told her they were from NEW Mexico).
“Race is often not mentioned in the call, because the callers don’t want to call attention to the fact that race is the reason behind their fear”.
Beyond complete speculation on what basis can you possibly assert you know the mind set of a multitude of people under uniques circumstances? You are suggesting universal racial bias. I both disagree with generalizing and hold out hope you are completely wrong factually.
That sort of comment just throws fuel on a fire at a time where people should seek to come together.
But then the dismissive comments toward people who probably experience unwarranted police calls on them with higher frequency also throws fuel on a fire, rather than encouraging people to come together.
However, a black man is more commonly a trigger for the “dangerous criminal” stereotype than a black woman* or a white man, even if the caller may not be consciously trying to be racist.
*Transgender black people have noted differences with respect to police encounters and other situations where the “dangerous criminal” stereotype affects black men to a greater degree than black women.
“But then the dismissive comments toward people who probably experience unwarranted police calls on them with higher frequency also throws fuel on a fire, rather than encouraging people to come togethet”.
UCBalumnus please show me where I have been dismissive and or disrespectful? You owe me an apology or point out the instance you are referring to. Recklessly making personal attacks against people who were in fact in agreement with you doesn’t help your case.
And as the expression goes two wrongs don’t make a right.
Because you quoted me directly that’s why. That does tend to come off as a personal reference.
Regardless, while it is wrong to be dismissive of how traumatic racial profiling is on individuals, your reverse profiling serves to perpetuate a lack of effective communication, middle ground and worst the elimination of stereotyping. 2 wrongs in this case don’t just fail to make a right, they serve to perpetuate prejudice on both sides.
If you disagree all good I respect you and don’t walk in your shoes. I would hope we could all seek common ground.
Those interested in finding common ground rarely broadcast their complaints on social media. Regardless, Smith has now mandated further anti bias training for all staff and hired an outside law firm ($$$) to review the incident and write a report. Yes, you can be sure that no more calls will be made, and police will hesitate to respond to calls in the future. So much for thoughtful dialog and common ground. Not going to happen there, apparently.