An Examination of Black College Men's Experiences With Campus Security

• In Event: The Carceral University: The Intimate Relationship Between Higher Education and State-Sanctioned Policing

Abstract

In recent years, postsecondary institutions have expanded security capabilities, including the acquisition of military-grade weapons, permitting officers to carry firearms, and converting safety units into full-fledged sworn police (Bauman, 2014; Broadwater, 2019; Christy, 2015). In this study, I examine how security measures (e.g., crime alerts, police patrols) create and enforce boundaries to maintain student and campus safety. I employ sense of belonging (Strayhorn, 2012) to explore how Black college men understand the role of security in determining who belongs on campus. The main questions guiding this study are: 1) What are Black male students’ knowledge of and experiences with campus security?, and 2) How do their experiences shape their understanding of belonging?
The study site is a historically white institution located in a metropolitan area. The university has an extensive security force, including armed and unarmed safety officers. 31 Black undergraduate men were interviewed during the 2018-19 academic year. Analysis was conducted inductively through several rounds of coding. Three main findings emerged from the analysis: (1) Black college men have an ambivalent relationship to campus security; (2) campus security creates lines of belonging and exclusion based on race, class, and space; and (3) Black college men actively assert their belonging to avoid police harassment and removal. I argue campus security is enacted in a dynamic process which places Black college men simultaneously as the object of protection and the source of danger. Understanding the complexity of experiences among racially minoritized students informs how we theorize the meanings of safety and security in higher education.

Author

• Jude Paul Matias Dizon, University of Southern California