Letter to the Editor

From Josué Coy Dick | An open letter to my community concerning student safety and police

Dear community, 

I write because of changes made at Bethel College that threaten its essential identity as a part of the peace church tradition.  Indeed, our core values of peace, justice and creative community engagement are the essence of what makes Bethel unlike any other small, liberal arts college in the region. 

Bethel now allows armed N.N. City Police to patrol the campus on foot, including within buildings.  This decision is a decision to rely on the potentially lethal violence of the state to enforce its campus rules and preserve personal safety. 

The administration also announced a set of rules concerning pranks where violators will be punished either by “fines and/or penalty of the law”. BC has historically tried to resolve any issues with students in-house, rather than funneling them into the criminal justice system. 

And, these fundamental changes relating to student safety were imposed without input from students--the party most significantly affected. Many members of the campus community aren’t even aware of these changes. Mennonite ethics rest on community processing and community informed decision making. 

Josué Coy Dick

A longer version of this letter appears in Survival. Survival is an online publication run by the Bethel College Community for Justice and Peace.