The College Fix

Despite protest, ‘Policing Post-Ferguson’ slated to go on as scheduled

St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch is slated to keynote an upcoming forum at Saint Louis University titled “The Thin Blue Line: Policing Post-Ferguson” – but if student protesters had their way, the attorney would be disinvited or the event canceled.

Student protesters also took issue with the fact that St. Louis County Police Department Chief Jon Belmar is slated to speak at the day-long symposium.

Citing a litany of grievances against both the police chief and McCulloch, the prosecutor who handled the grand jury proceedings over the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson, protesters called for “the lineup for this event be reconsidered and if possible the event be canceled altogether.”

“The Thin Blue Line: Policing Post-Ferguson” is set for Feb. 20 and will be hosted by the Saint Louis University Public Law Review. 

The event is described as a chance to “identify legal challenges that face law enforcement on the streets today” and will bring together academics, law enforcement and others for a “candid discussion of the changing environment in which our justice system is closely examined.”

But the student-led, St. Louis-based activist group Tribe X wants the forum shelved.

“We believe this event as scheduled runs counter to [community healing] and is a significant step back in regards to SLU’s relationship with the community and in particular the people who have so passionately and vehemently stood for justice all these months,” the group’s recent letter stated to campus officials.

In addition to Tribe X, a group of law students spoke out against McCulloch’s invitation at a university town hall meeting on Monday afternoon. And at least one SLU law professor publicly condemned McCulloch’s invitation.

“The reality is, the university has done a lot to be a part of the solution,” law professor Brendan Roediger told The Associated Press. “This undoes a lot of that work.”

For six days in mid-October, protesters – a mix of students and community activists – refused to leave Saint Louis University’s urban campus in a protest intended as an extension of the summertime riots of nearby Ferguson over the death of Brown.

The demonstrators left only after university President Fred Pestello agreed to all of their 13 academic and budgetary demands, now called the “Clock Tower Accords.”

But the upcoming symposium apparently strikes a discord with the accords.

“It can further be said that inviting of these two individuals to speak from a place of authority on policing is highly questionable in light of the many critiques received locally, nationally and internationally on the handling of the Michael Brown case and its aftermath,” Tribe X wrote in its letter.

The critiques referenced by the group included links to articles from MSNBC and The Huffington Post, among others.

In addition to the event’s list of speakers, the group took offense with its title.

“We also contend that including the words ‘Post-Ferguson’ in the event’s title is also highly inflammatory, because our region is not ‘post’ Ferguson as evidenced by the continued protests,” it wrote.

In an email statement released Monday morning, Pestello told the university community the symposium will go on as scheduled, with no speaking changes. Pestello argued against the notion that the event furthers the university from the community, instead implying it is one which “deepens understanding, builds knowledge, forms individuals, and moves humankind forward.”

Pestello highlighted the university’s commitment to its Jesuit mission, and its goal to further facilitate “dialogue about race, diversity, inclusion, peace, and justice.”

“[A] university – by its very nature – is a place where answers are sought, ideas are discussed, and varying viewpoints are heard,” he wrote. “As a Jesuit university, our mission calls us to promote free, active and original intellectual inquiry, and to promote justice in the spirit of the Gospels. One way to fulfill our mission is to expose members of the St. Louis community to our academic world and to help our students gain a richer understanding of the societal challenges outside our classrooms.”

Pestello also emphasized McCulloch’s stature in the community and his role in policing policy.

“[T]he law students organizing the symposium invited Mr. McCulloch to speak because he is St. Louis County’s most prominent law enforcement official,” he wrote. “The fact is that these conversations need to happen – and SLU needs to be a place that supports and contributes to them.”

College Fix reporter Nathan Rubbelke is a student at Saint Louis University.

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