ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The College of Michigan stated it is chopping ties with a personal safety firm that was accused of following pro-Palestinian activists on and off campus.
The college stated it discovered the actions of 1 safety firm worker “disturbing, unacceptable and unethical.” It didn’t elaborate.
FILE – Dozens of tents in place as a part of a pro-Palestinian protest on the College of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., Might 2, 2024. (AP Photograph/Ed White, File)
“Going forward, we are terminating all contracts with external vendors to provide plainclothes security on campus,” President Domenico Grasso stated in a press release Sunday.
In a Guardian story final week, college students stated they have been surveilled round Ann Arbor. The information outlet posted video from a member of a Muslim group who determined to confront a person who was watching him from a automobile final summer season. That man in flip yelled and accused him of making an attempt to steal his pockets.
Tensions have been excessive between the college and pro-Palestinian scholar teams. A scholar encampment stood for a month on campus final yr earlier than authorities shut it down citing issues of safety.
Seven individuals have been charged with felonies associated to the encampment’s elimination, although prices have been dropped in Might.
The college, which has campus police, stated it employed non-public safety a couple of yr in the past to report suspicious exercise in high-traffic areas, to not carry out surveillance.
“No individual or group should ever be targeted for their beliefs or affiliations,” Grasso stated.
