J. Tyler Ballance
In a report in the Richmond Times Dispatch, it sounded like the VCU SGA President, Eddie O’Leary was begging the Republican controlled Commission to further usurp student liberties and give iron-fisted control of VCU to the campus security department. Perhaps they didn’t get his comments right. It sure sounded like he was just a mouthpiece for the ultra-right wing, Republican xenophobes who are all too eager to paint VCU as a crime infested dump, unworthy of additional public education dollars.
Please tell us, Mr. O’Leary: Did you say anything POSITIVE about VCU to the Crime Commission? Did you do ANYTHING to defend the liberties of the students against the totalitarian thirsts of ultra-right wing, Stolle and McDonnell?
I understand that sometimes news reports are incomplete and biased, so please let us know if you did anything at all for the students during your appearance before the Crime Commissioners.
What potential students and the Virginia Crime Commission should be told, is that VCU is much safer than comparable urban campuses. The students, just like the citizens at large, do not need to surrender their civil liberties, or submit to increased surveillance, or endure more “zero tolerance” policies, just to create the ideal concentration camp atmosphere, where even the most timid suburban soccer mom will feel warm, safe and fuzzy all over.
J. Tyler Ballance