On anniversary of student’s death, what has changed at Georgia Tech?
Today marks the year anniversary of the shooting death of Georgia Tech student Scout Schultz by a campus police officer.
The 21-year-old student died after calling 911 to report "a suspicious person on campus" .... a white male, with long blonde hair, white T-shirt and blue jeans who is possibly intoxicated, holding a knife and possibly armed with a gun on his hip," according to the GBI.
The only weapon Schultz carried was a multipurpose tool that included a small blade, which was not extended. There was no gun. A video of the incident -- which unfolded in view of Tech dorms -- shows Schultz responding to police entreaties with "Shoot me!", ignoring commands to stand in place, and moving toward the campus officers, one of whom then fired.
In an AJC story today that includes an interview with Schultz's father, AJC reporters Eric Stirgus and Christian Boone note: "It's unclear whether the confrontation with campus police, orchestrated by Scout, was tantamount to a suicide attempt."
Here is an excerpt from the AJC story:
Before dying, Scout had grown increasingly frustrated by a perceived lack of respect afforded Tech's Pride Alliance, Bill Schultz said. Scout had been elected president of the diverse group, dedicated to inclusion and social justice, earlier in 2017.
Scout Schultz had previously sought counseling off-campus for mental health issues and had long suffered from depression.
The shooting death galvanized critics who felt Tech had not offered enough mental health services and inadequately supported LGBTQIA students.
Georgia Tech President G.P. "Bud" Peterson appointed teams to come up with ways to improve mental health services and better support LGBTQIA students under an initiative called "A Path Forward."
There were 180 recommendations. More than 50 suggestions are in the works or have been completed, such as the expansion of Tech's LGBTQIA Resource Center, which was derided as way too small to adequately serve students. Peterson last year created a fund for donors to contribute money for student mental health and wellness initiatives and quickly received a $1 million contribution.
Among those who contend Georgia Tech must do more to ensure a safer and more supportive environment are members of the Young Democratic Socialists of America at Georgia Tech, which sent me this statement on the anniversary of Scout Schultz’s death:
One year has passed since Scout Schultz, a nonbinary electrical engineering student and Young Democratic Socialists of America Member, was unjustifiably shot and killed by a Georgia Tech Police Officer. Shortly after, the GT Progressive Student Alliance (which, through a merging of groups, is now the Young Democratic Socialists of America at Georgia Tech) released a set of policy proposals which revolved around three topics: Mental Health, LGBTQIA+ Resources, and Police Reform.
These proposals were supported by peaceful plans to march on the president’s office. However, two days after the demands were issued, the president of Georgia Tech announced four “Action Teams” which promised, in part, to investigate the issues which were outlined in the Progressive Student Alliance proposals. In response, the Progressive Student Alliance called off the planned march and, instead, encouraged students to hold the administration accountable to the President’s “A Path Forward - Together” campaign which committed to investigating structural flaws at Georgia Tech and ensuring such a tragedy could never happen again.
However, one year later, this apparent olive branch to students has proven to be nothing more than a path forward for Bud Peterson’s imperiled career, with the President’s Office putting considerably greater effort into its website and promotional materials than making actual change on campus. The action teams, which were comprised of multiple students and faculty members, investigated the structural flaws in mental health care and LGBTQIA+ accommodations.
Despite the initial claim to address Police Reform, the “Campus Safety” action team was never convened by the administration, and all mention of that commitment has been scrubbed from the website without explanation.
The action teams that did form found over 150 different recommendations for structural change which would result in the elimination of conditions which led to Scout Schultz’s death. However, in early fall of 2018, the President’s Office announced that they had “reorganized” the action teams, erasing LGBTQIA+ issues into “Student and Community Life” and scrapping over a hundred of the action team recommendations for structural change.
Several recommendations for both mental health and LGBTQIA+ accommodations, which YDSA GT views as vital, have been omitted. One year after an easily preventable and devastating killing of our member and fellow student, these underlying structural conditions remain unaddressed, meaning that the tragedy may very well be repeated. Some of the most noticeable digressions of the Georgia Tech administration from the action team recommendations are as follows:
- The LGBTQIA+ action team set a deadline for a gender-inclusive housing policy to be implemented by the start of the current 2018-2019 academic year, but one month in no such policy exists, despite fellow USG schools Kennesaw State and Georgia State currently having a well-established gender-inclusive housing policy that could be easily adapted for Georgia Tech.
- Georgia Tech has refused to implement a multi-stalled gender-inclusive restroom in the soon-to-be-renovated student center, against the action team’s explicit recommendation. This would mark the second time the school has reversed on such a decision, as Georgia Tech’s Stamps Health Services facility was also promised to have multi-stalled gender-inclusive restrooms. No multi-stalled gender-inclusive restrooms currently exist or are planned for construction anywhere on campus, contrary to the action team’s conclusion that they should be included in renovations of all major buildings.
- The mental health action team originally concluded that Georgia Tech should hire more full-time mental health counselors to achieve a 1000:1 student-to-counsellor ratio, a significant improvement from the current ratio of about 1600:1. After student questioning during a town hall hosted by the administration earlier this month, the school shared that not a single additional practicing counsellor had been hired.
- The mental health action team also concluded that Georgia Tech should allocate a budget for mental health “to coordinate campus efforts and to support student mental health needs”. However, no information about any such budget has been released, and there is no evidence that a greater budget has been allocated to the Counseling Center for additional office space and staffing. Funding for new mental health initiatives and “Path Forward” branded activity has apparently all come from the patchwork of SGA’s Mental Health JAC and various donations & endowments from SAA and GT alumni.
The ultimate root of all these shortcomings and broken promises has been total lack of transparency in the “Path Forward” campaign and accompanied unilateral decision-making by the administration with minimal student involvement. The President’s “Advisory Group,” which oversees the campaign, includes only two students, one undergraduate and one graduate, who were hand selected by President Peterson to effectively serve as token students for the administration. The two student members are not elected representatives of student government and have no mandate or legitimacy in representing the interests of the student community.
Despite appearances, student interests are not adequately voiced in administrative decisions. One year after the killing of our member, YDSA GT has one more demand for the administration: allow the student body, through the elected representatives in student government, to hold direct decision making power in terms of crafting school policy and implementing the goals set out in the “Path Forward - Together” campaign.
The best way to follow through on the proposed reforms and keep the campaign accountable to students is to empower students with direct decision-making power. YDSA GT is committed to solidarity with the student body at Georgia Tech, including the LGBT+ community and other oppressed communities. YDSA GT’s advocacy for structural reforms on campus and effort to prevent the needless deaths of students are small, but vital parts of that commitment. It is our hope that the President of our institute would also take his mission to advocate for students seriously, and in a way that allows for democratic representation and student oversight.
Hopefully, the “Path Forward - Together” campaign will not be one dictated by a few administrators far removed from the needs of the GT community, but one built by the democratic involvement and decision making of everyone on campus, together.
About the Author
Maureen Downey has written editorials and opinion pieces about local, state and federal education policy since the 1990s.
