Georgia Tech student group issues demands in wake of shooting
A group of Georgia Tech students on Thursday unveiled a list of several changes they want campus administrators to make in the wake of Saturday's fatal shooting of a student by a campus police officer.
The Georgia Tech Progressive Student Alliance’s demands include:
- immediately equip and train police officers in the use of non-lethal alternatives to firearms and de-escalation tactics.
- mandatory crisis intervention training and other forms of training for police officers before they begin patrolling the campus.
- increase funding for mental health services for students.
- better services and accommodations for lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, queer, intersex and asexual students.
- Georgia Tech police Chief Rob Connolly to hold monthly town hall meetings.
The alliance is planning an Oct. 5 rally on campus focused on the demands and plans for peaceful, non-violent demonstrations in front of the office of Tech’s president, G.P. “Bud” Peterson.
“The issues known for over a decade by the administration continued to the point that they led to the death of one of our community’s pillars,” Naiki Kaffezakis, a nuclear engineering student, said in a news release. “With letters and rallies, the Tech community is standing now to help support the efforts of the LGBT community who have fought for the better treatment for all of us.”
About the Author
Eric Stirgus joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. He is the newsroom's education editor. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eric is active in the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the Education Writers Association and enjoys mentoring aspiring journalists.
