Police should not present at campus protests and are not there to protect the students.

Question

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/cops-dont-belong-at-campus-protests-oped

From April to May 2024, around 2,500 people were arrested for participating in Palestine-centered protests. Furthermore, at the UCLA protests last May, around 25 individuals were hospitalized due to the LAPD's usage of rubber bullets to clear out protestors. The police are not there to protect the students, and it is clear through the violence that they are using against them when they are applying their rights to free speech.

Comments

Teen Vogue is a .com website, so I was skeptical about the accuracy of the evidence they presented, but after further investigation, it seems to be correct and I trust the statistics and accounts they report. The author of the Teen Vogue article interviewed current students at the universities they were reporting on, which makes me trust the statements. They also cite some statistics from the LA Times, which is a known reputable source. The article states that police have used rubber bullets, detained, and otherwise injured students during campus protests. I think they have proven their claim and their sources and first-hand accounts support their argument that police are a danger to student protesters.

Answer 1

I think that the claim is neither true nor false, but more of an opinion. The information that is being provided is correct, but this claim doesn't ask us whether this happen or not, is just states that "Police should not present at campus protests and are not there to protect the students." Now if it Is asking us whether that was right or wrong, well then that's how the claim should be while using this information, and not by using their opinion.

Answer 2

The use of the word "should" in the title makes this a very obvious opinion piece. It cannot be independently verified if police should or shouldn't be at a campus protest.

Answer 3

This claim cannot be proven as a fact at all, and has many instances that prove this is based more from an opinion than anything else. Firstly, the title is worded in a confusing manner, using the word "should" as if it is a shared opinion that the this should take place. It feels as if you are forcing us to think in the way that you do due to this commanding tone of wording. Furthermore, police provide an essential presence on schools and campuses alike, with the unfortunate day and age we are in the the violence a single individual can cause. Lastly, the stat used of the 2,500 students that were arrested only is a number without a description of why they were taken into custody, which could have a very reasonable answer for doing so.