Assaulting a student should never be a disciplinary measure, especially when the offense is as harmless as using a cellphone in school. And yet, a police officer saw it fit to flip a girl’s desk over. Police officers are meant to keep people safe, so what went wrong?
These students are children; any disciplinary matters should be handled by teachers and principals, not police officers.
Refusing to hand in a cellphone does not warrant being tackled. It’s ridiculous that this topic is even being debated because it’s an abundantly clear overuse of force. Disobeying an order is not enough to warrant force, as the student was not doing anything that posed danger to herself, her teacher or those around her. Having a police officer handle disciplinary actions is a clear illustration of how schools have been viewing their students as potential criminals. The school had several options with which to approach discipline, with none of them requiring assault.
Raven-Symoné and other celebrities have blamed the girl for breaking the school rules, but this is an issue that goes much deeper than that: It’s systemic. This video was not about one student breaking a rule, it was indicative of a problem that is multi-faceted and can’t simply be explained by the student’s behavior.
It may have been an issue of race.
While there are many who still believe the Black Lives Matter movement is irrelevant and its slogan should be "all lives matter," the issue of discipline in schools highlights the importance of emphasizing black lives, as it is black students who get disproportionately suspended.
It’s important to point out that overzealous school discipline and police brutality affects black students more profoundly. An "all lives matter" approach makes it seem like these problems are experienced equally by all races when that is simply just not true. Police officers are not supposed to attack the communities they are meant to protect. If black students are not seen as valuable in the classroom, it’s not a surprise that this sentiment carries throughout their lives. It’s time for a change that puts an emphasis on understanding students before harshly disciplining them.
Nicole Dan is a UF political science sophomore. Her column appears on Mondays.
