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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Thursday, November 21, 2024 Vol. 78 No. 5
THE student voice since 1960
Unprovoked 2023 frisking of international student prompts change to police escort policy DYLAN HEMBROUGH editor-in-chief The night of Dec. 19, 2023, Natasha Israt Kabir was frisked by a member of the SIUE Police Department after requesting their escort service. Almost a year later, as a student senator, Kabir shared her experience with the Senate and proposed a resolution to require training on student rights for police and students. Kabir, an international student, said she used the escort service during winter break to safely travel the distance between The Social, an apartment complex just outside of campus, and Peck Hall. This was the second time Kabir had requested an escort, but the first time she was frisked. Kabir said there was very little lead-up to the pat-down. Before Officer Anthony Jones put his hands on her, Kabir said she could not understand what he was saying and only understood the word “pat-down.” “All of a sudden, he start-
ed patting me down. I was in shock, because that was unexpected for me,” Kabir said about the officer. “It doesn’t matter if he did it in an appropriate or inappropriate way — the fact is that he was a male officer,” Kabir said. Kabir said that Jones recorded the interaction, a fact later backed up by the police. Kabir also said she confronted Jones about the pat-down afterward but was told that a previous officer, who did not perform a pat-down, was in the wrong. Jones still works for the SIUE Police Department. Kabir reported the incident via SIUE’s campus climate reporting system shortly after the frisking occurred.
Approaching the Title IX office
“There was no response from the Title IX office,” Kabir said. “December passed by, January passed by, February passed by … I felt like I was [a] nobody.” Kabir shared her story with Ezra Temko, an associate professor in the Department of Sociology, who offered to act as her advocate. “It seemed like the university’s bureaucracy was not serving her well in terms of her getting responses or getting any-
thing to happen, from validation to accountability to action,” Temko said. Temko said that, at an Islamophobia training in the spring, he mentioned Kabir’s experience. Vice Chancellor for Anti-racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Jessica Harris was there as well, and Temko said she ensured that the Title IX office, known formally as the Office for Equal Opportunity, Access and Title IX Coordination, got in contact with Kabir. Mary Zabriskie, the director of Equal Opportunity, Access and Title IX Coordination, first responded to Kabir’s email on March 4, a full two months after Kabir had attempted to reach her office. Zabriskie informed Kabir that she had shared Kabir’s campus climate report with SIUE Chief of Police David Goodwin.
Meeting with the police
Kabir met with Goodwin on March 11 to discuss the incident and the climate report she submitted. Kabir said that the police found no evidence of sexual assault or inappropriate conduct after viewing the video of the frisking. “This is not a question
about inappropriateness or sexual assault, this is about cultural sensitivity and how a male police officer can frisk a female student,” Kabir said. “Does it happen with other students as well? Did it happen with any white students or any African American students?” Kabir said cultural sensitivity was at the heart of the issue. Cultural sensitivity is defined as being aware of and respecting the similarities and differences between one’s culture and another’s. Kabir was not only patted down by a male officer. She is also an international student. As someone who grew up in Bangladesh, Kabir said she felt unprepared when faced with American law enforcement customs. “Natasha felt like she was racially profiled with this. What [the police] told [Zabriskie] was that they had a newer police officer that was being trained, and they wanted to show what you’re allowed to do, so this was them demonstrating what you can do with the student,” Temko said. “They were using her as a training exercise, basically,” Temko said. “She wasn’t familiar with that meaning that a male was about to pat her down with
his hands.” Goodwin called Kabir on April 2 to inform her that Jones had been spoken to about cultural sensitivity. Later that month, the police department also sent Kabir a letter to check in on her after the incident and subsequent meetings. During this time, the police worked with Harris to re-evaluate the escort policy. Zabriskie met with Kabir and Temko on June 20 to discuss the incident and changes to the escort policy before the new one was officially adopted. The new policy, adopted on July 16, is more comprehensive and includes parameters for proper risk assessment, situational awareness and documentation of pat-downs. “In order for them to do [a pat-down], they would have to consider Natasha a threat — which nobody said they considered her that — and they’d have to document that they thought so,” Temko said. “The new policy is good in that it says … if somebody feels like they were patted see FRISKING on page 3
The Wedge Innovation Center to house major regional organizations SOPHIE HAWKINS reporter SAM MUREN managing editor Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, along with project leaders, took a look at the Wedge Innovation Center in Alton on Nov. 14. The center, which will be a hub for several local organizations, is set to open in February 2025. The Wedge is a key part of AltonWorks’ plan to revitalize Alton. “I founded something just like this called ‘1871’ in Chicago. It’s created thousands of jobs over the years,” Pritzker said. “These spaces are much nicer than what we created in Chicago. I love the idea that Alton is going to be the hub for entrepreneurs.” SIUE is one of the groups investing in the Wedge. The university is working closely with Founding Executive Director of TechSTL Emily Hemingway, who is also the executive director of the Wedge Innovation Center. “SIUE was our first major anchor partner. Having a university support the work we’ve been doing since day one has been really powerful in the whole framework of how we’ve tackled the work at the Wedge,” Hemingway said.
“SIUE will have offices on both the second and third floors and will be home to the new GeoMARC office as well as the Center for Predictive Analytics,” Hemingway said. GeoMARC is an SIUE department focused on Geographic Information Systems. Along with GeoMARC, other offices in the Wedge will be committed to predictive analytics. In light of this major partnership, Chancellor James T. Minor and SIU President Dan Mahony were both in attendance during Pritzker’s visit to the Wedge. Pritzker spoke highly of SIUE’s involvement in the project and of the institution as a whole. “I can tell you that having the university involved directly in this space and available to [local] entrepreneurs is a huge benefit,” Pritzker said. “The resources that a major university, and a very successful one at that, can bring to the table means that there will be economic success that is greater than there otherwise would have been because they’re sharing space and ideas with one another.” The collaboration on the Wedge Innovation Center shows not only signs of success for just students or independent groups, but the whole community as well. AltonWorks will be housing its 10 Gig Fiber Network system at the Wedge.
The Fiber Network system will be an dedicated to research and innovation in alternative for home internet. Residents the field of Artificial Intelligence. MAIN will be able to choose a more local oper- will establish a lab and office on the ation that has been built into the city in second floor specifically devoted to its place of other big corporate providers. AI endeavors. The state government provided $20 “The second floor is really focused million to the broadon AI research and band network. innovation that will “That’s gonna have an AI thinkgive Wi-Fi access to tank and a group of Having the university well over 90 percent partners that are part of our residents, I that initiative,” involved directly in this of think even 95 perHemingway said. space and available to cent of our resiIn addition to redents,” Alton Mayor search efforts, venture the entrepreneurs is a David Goins said. capitalist organiza“This will provide tions like Stakehouse huge benefit.” our residents with operate to help other another option for entrepreneurs and inJ.B. Pritzker internet broadband.” vestors. Hemingway Governor of Illinois Alton provided said that Stakehouse $7 million, approved will move a headquarby the aldermen, to the Wedge Innovation ters into the Wedge. Center project. “[Stakehouse is] an early stage [ven“It’s gonna be great. It’s gonna be a ture capitalist] that supports startups that boom for our city and our community,” spin out of universities,” Hemingway said. Goins said. For business-minded individuals like SIUE is not the only group investing SIUE School of Business Dean Mario assets in the Wedge Innovation Center. Hayek, witnessing these diverse groups Other companies and entrepreneurs are collaborate is exciting — particularly when also contributing to fill the space. considering the inspiration it can provide Midwest Artificial Intelligence Network (MAIN) is one of the companies see INNOVATION on page 2
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