Sal Orlando, News Editor
Kayla Muñecas, Assistant News Editor
VCU’s Board of Visitors provided no response to remarks and a letter from Andrew Paul, the parent of a VCU alum during the Sept. 11 meeting.
Paul’s letter included a call to action demanding oversight from the Board over VCU’s use of police force on its students. However, the BOV did not issue a response to Paul or the public.
The letter posed two questions: “What oversight action has the Board of Visitors taken, if any, regarding VCU’s police attack on its own students on April 29, 2024?” and “What were the results of that oversight? Or if no action was taken, please explain why with a relevant, substantive answer.”
Paul stated in his remarks that VCU has no evidence to support their claims that actions taken during the altercation were appropriate, did nothing to resolve the altercation, is undeserving of public trust, is lucky no one was more seriously killed or injured, ignored public petitions and outcry and restricted students’ self-expression.
Paul said when he initially heard about the altercation, he was shocked, but understood the situation may have been blown out of proportion. The day after he heard the news, Paul said he went on a deep dive to find all of the information available.
“It only seemed to confirm that VCU made a very dangerous decision to attack its own students with riot police against students who were otherwise peaceful and it was unnecessary,” Paul said.
VCU Police was involved in the altercation and later conducted the investigation into the incident.
According to VCU spokesperson Brian McNeill, the investigation’s conclusion was that the university’s response was in compliance with protocol.
Paul says that an in-depth investigation by the Board of Visitors is necessary, regardless of who was in the wrong, in order to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
“IF VCU IS RIGHT AND CONFIDENT IN ITS DECISION, IT SHOULD WELCOME AN UNBIASED INVESTIGATION – LET’S LEARN ALL THE FACTS,” read Paul’s remarks to the BOV.
Paul explained that even if the university was not at fault for the altercation, it is only right for an organization to investigate “crisis-type incidents.”
Paul mentioned he was born in Ohio in 1970, the year of the Kent State shooting, where four students protesting the Vietnam War were fatally shot by authorities. In response, protests broke out across the country, as well as here in Richmond.
“It’s not identical to what happened in 2024, but VCU in 1970 had a very responsible reaction to Vietnam protests on its campus,” Paul said. “That was a proud moment for VCU, but that pride is erased by not learning from the past, by basically going the wrong direction and choosing to attack its own students.”
Paul also expressed feeling outraged by a lack of response from the Board of Visitors, despite being present at several meetings. At one particular meeting in December of 2024, eight months after the altercation occurred, the board did not offer Paul much reassurance outside of a thank you.
“I thought maybe they would even have some sort of prepared response because it had been several months. All I got was, ‘Thank you, Mr. Paul’ and nothing else,” Paul recalled.
Paul solidified his dedication to the cause saying, “I kind of personally committed to it, I’m not going to let this one go. I will keep reminding them when I can.”
In a follow up exchange with Paul, he confirmed that neither the Board of Visitors nor any VCU administration contacted him after the meeting on or after Sep. 11.