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an average of 6 minutes to respond. The response time is unacceptable, officials say in the proposal. The Eastman School campus relies entirely on Rochester Police Department officers for incidents involving weapons, the proposal says. “We believe the University has a responsibility to provide the same level of protection to all of the areas patrolled by DPS,” says the proposal. “Failing to provide armed officer coverage on the River Campus and at the Eastman School of Music at best delays and worst leaves unprotected large segments of our community.” But the proposal still faces opposition from students and faculty. The Minority Students’ Association Board sent an e-mail to members in November saying the proposal “does not reflect the direct needs of this campus and surrounding community and in fact, endangers many,” according to a UR Campus Times article published at the time. Student and faculty opponents have expressed fears that the proposal is another step toward a fully armed campus police force, which many in the UR community have resisted for years. During a November forum on the proposal, some students asked why the university’s approach to a potential active-shooter situation centers on arming campus officers, and doesn’t include drills so students know how to respond, the Campus Times article reports. The students and faculty opposed to the proposal also note that the public safety officers who would be armed would be permitted to patrol sections of public streets and sidewalks, which they say would affect people in nearby neighborhoods. A 2017 change in state law gave campus peace officers jurisdiction over the sidewalks and streets immediately adjacent to UR grounds, buildings, or property. The law “allows DPS officers to make arrests on sidewalks adjoining University properties, as well as investigate motor vehicle accidents on city streets running through and adjacent to University properties,” Miller says. The opponents largely want the proposal to be withdrawn or rejected.
10 CITY MARCH 13 - 19, 2019
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The concentration of poverty in several Rochester neighborhoods is one of those problems. That is not opinion; that is fact. And if the community doesn’t have the will to address the concentrated poverty in a meaningful way, it will have a choice: continue to see generations of children leave school with little hope of a decent future or pay for the education and support the children need. One way to reduce the concentration of poverty in public schools is desegregation, of course: metro schools or some other way to stop forcing poor children to go to majority-poor schools. But that’s not going to happen. Not in the lifetime of anybody living in this community right now. It is possible to create a district that provides an excellent education for a high-poverty population. Changes in curriculum, better training for teachers and administrators... all of that would be essential. But so would strong support services for the children and their families, to counteract the damage of concentrated poverty. That is not the school district’s job. It is the community’s job – and it won’t be cheap. City government can’t afford to pay the cost. And the governor of the State of New York has already said that the state won’t pay. So what’s our plan? It’s good that so many organizations have said they want to be involved in providing, in their words, “a world class education” for Rochester’s children. But changing the way the school district is governed – changing the title of the person or persons in charge – would be just one step. If the community isn’t ready to share the burden and the responsibility for the non-education challenges, nothing will change. Whether the school board stays in charge, or we have some form of mayoral control, or we create some form of cityschool board partnership, nothing at all will change.
For more Tom Tomorrow, including a political blog and cartoon archive, visit www.thismodernworld.com
URBAN ACTION This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.)
A focus on suffrage leaders
In recognition of Women’s History Month, Rochester NOW will present “Frenemies for Suffrage: Stanton, Gage, Anthony” on Friday, March 18. Mary Corey, SUNY emeritus professor of history, will explore the 40-year working relationship between Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Susan B. Anthony. The event will be held at Five Star Bank’s Flower City Community Room, 385 Westfall Road, at 7 p.m.
Warren plans budget talk
Mayor Lovely Warren will hold a community input session at City Hall on Wednesday, March 13, concerning the city’s 2019-2020 budget. Warren is seeking the community’s feedback on the city’s programs and services as she prepares to close a $38 million gap. The event will be held in the City Hall atrium, 30 Church Street, from 6 to 8 p.m. People who can’t attend can still provide comments online at www. cityofrochester.gov/budget, until Sunday, March 31.
Creating affordable housing
The Community Design Center of Rochester will host a panel discussion on the topic “How Do We House Our Most Vulnerable Populations?” on Wednesday, March 13. The panelists: City Council candidate Mary Lupien; Nicholas Coulter, co-founder of Person Centered Housing Options, and Joe DiFiore, youth and family engagement specialist at Common Ground Health. DiFiore and Lupien are also members of Little Flower Community, an affordable-housing group. The event will be held at CDCR, 1115 East Main Street, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.