Advocacy for a Conversation on Community and Law Enforcement Relations

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Advocacy for a Conversation on Community and Law Enforcement Relations

Develop mutual understanding & find common ground

The Support Group for Ethnic and Racial Diversity (SERD), a student arm of the Antioch Multicultural Center within the Department of Clinical Psychology (PsyD), has created an advocacy activity to create a public dialogue about community and law enforcement relations.

Three Phases
The activity consists of three distinct phases. During the first two phases, individuals will be invited to answer questions posted here by submitting postcards. The postcards will be displayed anonymously. Phase 1 will be a conversation within the AUNE campus. During Phase 2, the conversation will be opened to civic leaders, the police of the City of Keene, and area law enforcement groups. The final step, Phase 3, will be an in-person conversation with members of law enforcement and members of the Keene community and its neighboring towns.

Purpose
AUNE PsyD students initiated the advocacy project under the leadership of Dr. Gargi Roysircar, director of AUNE’s Multicultural Center for Research and Practice and SERD, in response to a growing concern about the relationship between local communities and their police.

The goal is to help communities and law enforcement relate more positively to one another, while becoming more mindful of biases. The process will develop mutual understanding, empathy, and a common ground. Trusting and supportive intergroup relations in the human ecology can lead to individual and community resilience-building.

Activity: The Postcard Project

Sponsored by SERD and the Multicultural Center

Visit this site to view the current question and to learn how to submit an electronic postcard or a snail mail postcard.

The Postcard Project provides an anonymous forum for individuals to share their thoughts on a given topic with no fear of reproach. The electronic bulletin board will feature colorful postcards submitted anonymously. Some of these postcards will be featured on a bulletin board at AUNE. We hope these postcards will spark conversations in classrooms across all departments and programs.

Procedures for a Productive Conversation

  • Expression of hatred is not acceptable.
  • Thoughts are expressed respectfully.
  • Statements that overgeneralize or demonize a person or a group are avoided.
  • Negative or positive encounters are to be reported,  but without the promotion of negative or positive stereotypes.
  • Moderators will receive all postcards, approve them, and then upload them anonymously. In consultation with an AUNE supervisory board, moderators will not post clearly inappropriate statements (e.g., identifying or insulting a person/persons). Moderators will also not post statements that do not answer the questions on a given topic.
  • Threats to the safety and security of the school and the AUNE community or its individual members will be reported to the administrative leadership for needed action.
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