Guest Column: MCLA Must Rebuild Trust With Faculty, Students

By Dana RappGuest Column
02:58PM / Monday, February 06, 2012Print Story | Email Story

The MCLA Faculty Association is disappointed and confused by the Board of Trustee's vote to arm campus police officers against the will of the vast majority of faculty and a significant majority of students.

Many faculty have worked hard to cultivate a relationship of respect, shared-decision-making, and cooperation with the administration. I cannot imagine a scenario in which the Faculty Association would endorse a policy or plan with such far-reaching implications if the MCLA administration, Board of Trustees, and/or other relevant constituencies on campus "strongly encouraged" us not to do so. The Board's vote, and the flawed process of deliberation that led up to it, leave many faculty wondering if our views on a range of issues are sincerely solicited or valued.

The events established to gather "input" from the community were neither effective nor convincing. The forums were rushed and lacked opportunities for faculty to be meaningfully involved, offer nuanced opinions, and introduce valid evidence to back up or counter various claims. Moreover, these events seemed like they were staged as a means of convincing the community that the arming of MCLA campus police was necessary and pressing.

An unjustifiable and unpopular outcome was inevitable because of this seriously flawed process. The board stated that they were acting in MCLA's "best interest" but, in the end, they did not seem too interested in the opinions of people who live and work on or near the campus. The vast majority of people who are at MCLA every day believe that the arming of campus police at this time WILL NOT make the campus a safer place.

"Moving on" for the Faculty Association will require soul-searching and reflection on behalf of the Board and the administration. To this end, we believe it is in the best interest of the MCLA community that the Board and administration commit to a self-study of their roles and decisions in a process that led to such an unpopular, and perhaps invalid, final decision. We "strongly encourage" the Board to agree to the self-study and include two members appointed by the Student Government Association and two by the Faculty Association.

The recommendations that come out of this self-study could serve as a means of providing assurance that the College has matured in its ability to discuss significant issues, as well as a basis for rebuilding the trust and confidence that many faculty and students would like to have.

Dana Rapp is president of the MCLA Faculty Association.

Tags: MCLA, MCLA police,

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Mr.Rapp if anything happened you would be the first to complain, if the trustees voted this down. Look at Virgina Tech it didn't happen once but twice. So be happy the trustees are looking out for the best interest of the college and not just a sample group of people.
from: realistically	on: 02-07-2012 12:03AM I Agree (12) - I Disagree (7)
Editor: Don't make assumptions about what individuals would do.
I Agree (6) - I Disagree (7)

Let me get this straight. MCLA must put the ideology of some ahead of the safety and well being of all(including campus police)?
from: huh?	on: 02-07-2012 07:47AM I Agree (5) - I Disagree (4)

In my opinion, this is exactly the type of decision a Board makes - not necessarily the popular decision, but instead one that looks at the long-term good of the institution. I think the Board did hear the concerns of the faculty and students. Instead of simply catering to popular opinion, they made a decision that took into account more viewpoints and information, and did what they felt was the best for all of MCLA. In my opinion, more Boards, and people in decision making positions, should be willing to to take a stand and do what they feel is right rather than simply what is popular.
from: My Take	on: 02-07-2012 09:19AM I Agree (13) - I Disagree (2)

Faculty should teach, Administration should govern and Campus police will keep everyone safe.Do your jobs and stop being concerned with what everyone else is doing. Why is it so hard to give the POLICE the tools they need to do the job. And start using some respect for the title of Police Officer in the Office of Public Safety.. The are not rent a cops or guards they are Police Officers. Show some respect to the level of training these men and woman receive. It is very apparent the Faculty have no clue what the Campus Police do on a regular basis or the debate would be differant
from: Waliking Tall	on: 02-07-2012 09:56AM I Agree (11) - I Disagree (4)

Is this an elected board? If so who gets to vote? If not the tustees don't have to listen to no one which seems to be the case. I hope this doesn't become a vote they will regret.
from: neighbor	on: 02-07-2012 10:02AM I Agree (1) - I Disagree (7)
Editor: It is an appointed board.
I Agree (1) - I Disagree (0)

It blows my mind how so many people are against the board for being PROACTIVE when making the decision that benefits the publics safety. How narrow minded these people are. Who cares what anti-students think. They are guests at this institution. Get over it or go to another college. You will be replaced by those that want to feel safe on campus.
from: Wise Choice	on: 02-07-2012 12:25PM I Agree (6) - I Disagree (5)
Editor: But most were against it - and they're paying guests.
I Agree (3) - I Disagree (4)

Armed police did nothing to prevent the incident at Virgina Tech. By that reasoning, how does one explain the killings at Fort Hood? That happened ON A MILITARY BASE! Everyone has guns there, so by reason, no one should ever come to any harm.
from: guns, guns, guns	on: 02-07-2012 01:14PM I Agree (5) - I Disagree (7)

Here's what can happen when campus securuty have weapons. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gim_pqUAKcc If the students weren't resisting they should have had the police come and take them away instead of spraying them with pepper spray. I wonder how those college trustees felt after this video was on the news around the world.
from: bad PR	on: 02-07-2012 02:48PM I Agree (3) - I Disagree (7)

I'm curious to see what type of criminal situation on the MCLA campus will eventually require an armed response. What could possibly happen at a tiny campus in a rural community such as North Adams, which has less population than most towns in Massachusetts, that would ever cause campus security personnel to draw lethal weapons in response? The answer, of course, is nothing. If we were to fast forward a couple of years from now and pretend for the sake of argument that something of that magnitude could possibly ever happen on or near the MCLA campus, who would you prefer handle it - a highly trained professional force which prepares for these scenarios and can always be summoned in a matter of minutes (either staties or local), or college cops who are basically traffic monitors and last underwent a half-baked training session a couple of years ago? Do any of you honestly believe a cash-starved system is going to shell out the same kind of regular big training dollars at MCLA which they do for their college police force in the rest of the state, which is all in or near urban centers, such as UMass? Of course they won't. If I lived in the MCLA neighborhood and had a family, I'd be livid over this poorly thought-out and irresponsible decision. The MCLA Board should regroup and put this on hold before it's too late. No-one's perfect, guys - it's o.k. to just say you want some time to rethink the proposal and then let it languish, out of sight and out of mind, until everybody forgets it. It's important for you to remember that the only constituency for this move was the security force itself. No-one else cared.
from: Draw	on: 02-07-2012 04:34PM I Agree (1) - I Disagree (9)

Draw here is a scenerio. Drugs are on campus and we aren't just talking about pot. I'm talking about cocaine and heroin. I could totally envision a scenerio where a suspecious character is loitering on campus when the campus PD approach the man with drugs, baked out of his mind, pulls a gun on the campus police. Campus policemans only defense is to dodge the bullets matrix style because the kid's (who don't want him to have a gun) drug dealer is packing.
from: Draw? Really?	on: 02-07-2012 07:04PM I Agree (2) - I Disagree (2)

stop saying this is JUST a SMALL campus in a SMALL city as if North Adams is pleasentville. Don't be so naive. Do you honestly not lock you home or car doors also? Do you still think small towns can't have heroin or cocaine problems? Do you think santy clause still exists? North Adams is no Harlem...true... but it isn't any utopia either. It only takes one sick person with a gun to create a problem. It takes a bunch of naive ones to be unprepared. Let's hope they never have to use the guns. being prepared is not a mistake.
from: one last thing	on: 02-08-2012 11:04AM I Agree (2) - I Disagree (1)

Wait until someody clues in the students and faculty that next time they go to Big Y or the pizza shop, that they may well be standing next to a licensed citizen legally carrying a concealed firearm. They'll be too scared to leave campus.
from: two cents worth	on: 02-08-2012 11:52AM I Agree (1) - I Disagree (1)

Students and faculty come and go. It's not their responsibility to make institutional policy. The NAPD has spent many years on campus and in the surrounding neighborhood while armed. Predictions that all of the sudden with there be a hail of gunfire when the MCLA PD starts packing are simply the product of overreacting academics who feel they are entitled to more say than they deserve.
from: Wonk Czolgosz	on: 02-10-2012 10:04AM I Agree (2) - I Disagree (2)

New North Adams Restaurant Approved for Liquor License

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
03:08PM / Tuesday, June 09, 2026

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A new restaurant on Main Street, a provisions shop and a convenience store all got the nod from the License Commission on Tuesday.

Siblings Colleen and Sean Taylor are expanding their cuisine empire yet again with the establishment of Main & Mill in the old TD Bank. They were before the commission to apply for an all-alcohol license.

The building is owned by Ginko on Main Street LLC, which has granted 20 years exclusive possession of the property to Latent Builds as the developer. Jack and Suzy Wadsworth, behind Ginko, are development partners with Salvatore Perry and Karla Rothstein of Latent.

The bank closed in early 2021 and purchased by Ginko late that year. Plans for the property unveiled three years ago envisioned a restaurant, retail, a park and rooftop bar.

The building's hosted some pop-up eateries and is currently under construction for the new restaurant.

Colleen Taylor said the restaurant will be open seven days a week serving lunch and dinner, and be open early for coffee.

"It's not going to be a very big restaurant. It's about the same size as Trail House, except for Trail House has a bigger patio, so about the same seating," she said.

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