Jim Crow on Campus, Episode 2: "Ashley"

Welcome to SUNY Canton, a technical college of 3200 students in upstate New York. It’s located in Canton, NY, the county seat of St. Lawrence County, a county that’s just 2.7% Black and 2.3% Latinx. But at SUNY Canton, two-thirds of the students who live on-campus are Black and Latinx. It’s like a pocket of NYC in the backwoods of rural New York.

So what happens when those students of color are policed by all-white cops? In Jim Crow on Campus, a new podcast series from Weave News, reporter Erin Corbine aims to answer that question by covering the students, the police, the administration, and the surrounding community. It’s available now on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, and here at Weave News, via the widget below.

In this episode of Jim Crow on Campus, reporter Erin Corbine sits down with “Ashley.” Ashley, who’s using an alias out of fear of retaliation from police and the administration, is a senior at SUNY Canton. She sheds light on her experiences involving University Police. In this episode, we gain insight into the officers’ strategic circumvention of the Fourth Amendment - the freedom from unreasonable search and seizure.

What does it mean to have these rules not apply? For many students like Ashley, this is a daily reality at SUNY Canton. Before her departure, she reminisces on a warning she left for her family:

“I told my parents, I do not feel comfortable. If anything ever happened to me, don’t call University Police.”

If you are a current or former SUNY Canton student or employee and would like to contact reporter Erin Corbine about your experiences, you can reach her at erincorbine[at]gmail.com.

If you have experienced racial or ethnic discrimination and would like to file a complaint, SUNY Canton allows for both formal and informal complaints to be filed with their Affirmative Action Co-Officers, William Jones (jonesw@canton.edu or 315-386-7063) or Lashawanda Ingram, (ingraml@canton.edu or 315-386-7128). In addition, students also have the right to file complaints with both the New York State Civil Rights Bureau and the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. NYSCRB complaint forms can be found here (and in Spanish here), and Department of Education complaints may be filed here.

Media inquiries, complaints, and other feedback may be directed to producer Christian Exoo at christianmexoo[at]gmail.com.

Banner image by Alex Soto