The diversity-dissent paradox: Navigating police and university recruitment challenges amidst campus protest dynamics

Abstract

Amidst the current wave of social activism sparked by the ongoing crisis in Israel-Palestine, universities across the United States, Canada and Australia are increasingly turning to law enforcement to address social unrest on their campuses. This has been met with vocal support from local politicians in the United States, some of whom advocate for the deployment of the National Guard. However, such reliance on state power comes at a time when law enforcement agencies and universities are grappling with significant challenges in recruiting new cadets and students, particularly from racialised and/or otherwise marginalised communities. This conceptual article delves into the intricate paradox facing both institutions today. While there is a pressing need for a police force that reflects the diversity of the communities it serves, much of police action, often involving the use of force, is directed at these very communities as they voice their grievances against perceived social injustices. Drawing on insights from anticolonial literature, historical and contemporary analyses of police interactions, this article elucidates how policing has historically served to uphold existing power structures and how, in certain cases, the continued alignment of police forces with elite interests exacerbates the difficulty of diversifying the force.

Introduction

In recent months, the pulse of activism has resonated strongly across university campuses ¹ in the United States, Canada and Australia, with many student bodies advocating passionately for the Palestinian cause. Amidst the current wave of social activism sparked by the ongoing crisis in Israel-Palestine, universities across these countries are increasingly turning to law enforcement ² to address social unrest on their campuses. This has been met with vocal support from local politicians in the United States, some of whom advocate for the deployment of the National Guard, for example. However, this reliance on state power comes at a time when law enforcement agencies are grappling with significant challenges in recruiting new cadets, particularly from racialised and/or otherwise marginalised communities. Moreover, the lack of research on the nexus between the criminal justice system and postsecondary institutions is noticeable “when compared with the voluminous scholarship involving exclusionary practices, school resource officers (SROs), and the school-to-prison pipeline in the K-12 [Kindergarten to Grade 12] context” (Miller & Russell-Brown, 2023, p. 61). For example, in their study of the school-prison nexus, focusing on community colleges, Gardner et al. (2023) highlight the contradictions in the use of carceral logics on campuses. They show how community colleges, which market themselves as pathways to economic mobility and opportunity for marginalised students, instead allocate significant resources to surveillance technology, private security and policies that criminalise student protests. This creates an atmosphere of fear and control, ultimately suppressing political expression and undermining the very opportunities these institutions claim to provide. These actions render carceral logics more important than the provision of academic or psychological support.

In this article, we reflect upon the complex higher educational landscapes in the United States, Canada and Australia, outlining and discussing the different approaches universities and colleges in their respective jurisdictions have taken to manage campus protest. We then connect police diversity recruitment challenges with our discussion of campus protest to explore the diversity-dissent paradox, a term we coin, defined as police agencies’ contradictory efforts to reconcile diverse (i.e., racialised) recruits and the potentially dissenting opinions recruits can bring with them into the police ranks. In other words, as racialised recruits increase, the more likely police agencies will have to contend with dissenting opinions, which we believe leads to increased agency efforts to quash recruits’ dissent and assimilate them into the current police agency structure at the same time. Those racialised recruits who do not want their dissent quashed may abandon efforts to pursue a career in policing, Thereby and more likely resulting in less success of police agencies in diversifying their police force. We believe the diversity-dissent paradox is an apt frame of reference to describe the current realities we are witnessing on university campuses where police have been charged with managing (if not cracking down) upon protest and dissent. We contend our discussion provides a useful, conceptual entry point for the analysis of police and college diversity recruitment challenges as it connects to campus protests in the United States, Canada and Australia, a discussion which we believe is timely and warranted.

Setting the context

We recognise not all university campuses are alike and there are differences between them not only across one country (i.e., Canada) but across national jurisdictions (i.e., between Canada, United States and Australia); yet questions regarding the standards and objectives of policing as it relates to campus protests circulate. The university campus remains a space where socio-cultural dynamics and legal decisions meet. However, scholarly attention towards this paradox of police diversity and campus dissent remains undeveloped.

In this article, we delve into historical and/or anticolonial literature to elucidate a better understanding of what we deem the diversity-dissent paradox. We suggest the paradox between police diversity recruitment challenges and the policing of campus protest and dissent can help us crystalise a more capacious conception of what police recruitment may need to overcome if there is any hope of diversifying the force. Our engagement with the paradox carves open a space for our conceptual thought experiment to occur, wherein we believe greater attention must be paid towards not only the puzzle of police diversity, but also how it links with campus protests and dissent.

Of course, we tread carefully in this discourse. We approach this discussion not only as criminologists, but as concerned faculty members in academia witnessing what is happening on university campuses across the United States, Canada, and Australia and the police action taken to restrict and/or quell campus protest and dissent. We also recognise that from our vantage points, not only do we research with and alongside police, but we are also mindful of our students and fellow faculty members of whom engage in protest. As a result, we acknowledge that we have footholds in both policing and academic camps, and therefore are cognizant of our current balancing act. Moreover, the context of viewpoint is necessary; indeed, as authors, we traverse identities of race, age, sexual orientation, religion, social class, and citizenship. As such, intersectional lenses and perspectives must always factor into delicate conversations surrounding marginalisation and dissent, allowing us to shine a light on the changes to be made for the better. Indeed, acknowledging these views carves open possibilities for police diverse recruitment to become better attuned to the current realities of campus protest and dissent. Recognising how the former works in lockstep with the latter, our focus upon the diversity-dissent paradox is a necessary endeavour.

Furthermore, we tread carefully in a discourse where we recognise how a police force, inherently entrenched in law-and-order and security ideologies, can imbue its police officers, including prospective police recruits, with a particular consciousness. While acknowledging the gravity of police action (including but not limited to use of force), it is essential to note the nuanced complexities of policing campus protest and dissent. This recognition is vital in challenging the oversimplified approach to police reform. We do not purport to offer definitive solutions to the complexities surrounding police recruitment challenges, nor is our article providing solutions for police officers to “better” police campus protests and dissent. Instead, our aim is to catalyse dialogue, laying the conceptual groundwork for potential improvements to the current realities and tensions we are witnessing on campuses in the three countries. In the forthcoming discussion, we strive to decipher the intricate interaction between diversifying a police force and campus protest dynamics, particularly focusing on contexts in the Unted States, Canada, and Australia. As our examination draws to a close, we contemplate the implications of the diversity-dissent paradox and provide recommendations for future research.

Police recruitment challenges ³

In the wake of racial justice protests and media attention on the violent interactions with police, the last decade has sparked demands for transformative changes in law enforcement, current criminal-legal practices and understandings of race, law and justice (Russell-Brown, 2021). The demands also include the need for a deep examination of the professionalisation and militarisation of campus police departments across the United States. To improve the professionalisation of campus police, training must incorporate more evidence-based strategies for interacting with students from diverse backgrounds. This is particularly important as colleges in the United States, Canada and Australia continue to see growth in international enrolments, necessitating a more diverse staff to effectively serve these communities. Additionally, policing tactics and the tools provided to officers should prioritise de-escalation, moving away from the prevalent “warrior cop” mentality that mirrors increasing militaristic trends. Moreover, campus police departments often reflect broader public agency challenges, including entrenched policing subcultures and demographic compositions that do not align with the communities they serve.

At this juncture, we find it important to highlight the significant deficiencies in policing as a system which maintains existing power structures. Indeed, many student activists today view their struggle as one of intersecting ideas about colonial rule and hegemony (Powers, 2024). They see Israel's occupation of Palestine and the current war in Gaza and the West Bank as emblematic of broader colonial rule, this is evidenced by the considerable financial and military support provided to Israel by former colonial powers such as the United States, Canada, Britain and to a lesser degree, Australia. Indeed, student protestors regularly connect their current struggles to those of the past such as that of the South African Apartheid regime (Powers, 2024). Deployment of police by universities to suppress largely peaceful campus protests is viewed by some social scientists and activists as an instrument of Western power. These actions are perceived as designed to protect class interests and transmit hegemonic narratives that maintain traditional power dynamics, rather than to ensure peace on campuses (Chatterjee & Maira, 2014). This perception is reinforced by revelations about the financial ties many (U.S.) universities have with the military-industrial complex (Olivier, 2022) as well as the political establishment which continues to provide diplomatic cover for Israel's ongoing actions, many of which have been deemed to violate human rights and constitute acts of genocide. ⁴

The dynamics of campus protests: Reflecting upon complex landscapes

As we mentioned, policing is an inherently complex institution with a long and often troubling history, especially as it pertains to minoritised communities,

reflecting imperatives posed by the troubled relations between minority citizens and the police across societies that differ in their experience of colonialism, prejudice, and unequal opportunities. We would acknowledge the body of literature demonstrating that minority officers do not behave very differently from majority officers and citing organisational culture and socialisation processes. (Fielding, 2024, p. 13)

Below we outline historical and contemporary analyses of police interactions with student protests in the United States, Canada and Australia. While we do not provide an exhaustive list of campus protests in these countries, the examples indicated demonstrate how the role of policing has shifted over time and the historical and contemporary challenges facing both police and campus protesting.

Campus protests in the United States

Police exist in some form at nearly every American college or university (Anderson, 2015). However, they receive little attention from the academics who work within those very institutions (Fisher & Sloan, 2022). The entanglement between institutions of higher education and policing creates a nexus between two of the largest state forces. Separately and apart these institutions maintain policies and practices replete with racial disparities and racialised implications (Cole, 2021).

Historically, campuses in the United States have served as incubators for movements that have reshaped society. Shuraydi (forthcoming) suggests that student protests, including riots, can be traced back to the 1200s, with many occurring on American college campuses for nearly 300 years. Her analysis is comprehensive, beginning with the Town and Gown protests ⁵ in medieval Europe and moving through the colonial period in the United States. She highlights the ebbs and flows of student activism in the 20th century, such as the anti-capitalist protests of the 1930s and the post-war movements that sparked the civil rights and anti-war movements, concluding with the activism of the new millennium (Shuraydi, forthcoming). From the Vietnam War to South African apartheid, “student organizing for justice has driven significant changes in public policy and societal norms” (Lawrence, 2024, n.p.). Rarely though have universities proactively responded to student demands. Instead, often to their embarrassment, they send police in riot gear to punish students urging peace. For instance, in 1969, Harvard sent in the police to aggressively clear students protesting the Vietnam War in University Hall (Lawrence, 2024). In 1985, University of California, Berkeley police arrested 159 anti-apartheid demonstrators for blockading two campus buildings (Lawrence, 2024). In May 1970, the Ohio National Guard shot and killed four student anti-Vietnam War protesters at Kent State University (Lexier, 2024).

Since the May 2020 murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, much of the attention on police reform has been directed at municipal police departments (Sloan, 2021). ⁶ But we have also seen a noticeable uptick in protests against the practices of campus police. For example, protests have occurred at, among other schools, Yale University, the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Minnesota and various campuses of the University of California system (Sloan, 2021). Such protests were fuelled by “evidence of racial profiling, excessive force, improper surveillance and allowing racial stereotypes in 911 calls to influence officer responses” (Sloan, 2021, n.p.). Indeed, protesters at that time demanded that schools undertake major reforms of their campus police departments, while others have called on schools to defund their police, and even more have demanded abolishing campus police altogether.

Racialised minority police officers have documented their lived experiences with racial discrimination and racial hostility within their own departments (Baker, 2021; Balko, 2022). Campus police departments are overwhelmingly White and male and structural racism within policing is well documented (Balko, 2020). As Miller and Russell-Brown (2023, p. 86) indicate, “Black, Latino, and other racialised minority campus police officers across the [United States] are attempting to challenge the culture of entrenched racism that plagues their departments”. Researchers have examined the structures, impacts, and development of campus police departments. The introduction of the “college-prison nexus” (Johnson & Dizon, 2021) frames the often-overlooked relationship between institutions of higher education and penal systems. Further, research on the racialised practices of campus police as an extension of the institution contextualises and shapes an already racialised environment on campus (Dizon, 2021). Scholarship on campus policing is especially limited when analysing its relationship to race and racism. As (Miller and Russell-Brown, 2023, pp. 99–100) contend,

[t]he lack of research is concerning for several reasons. First, campus police handle matters of substantial consequence, and the research on campus policing should similarly reflect on and speak to those consequences… Second, campus police officers engage in similar patterns of police violence and racial hostility as their municipal counterparts…Third, campus police officers are often disconnected from the needs of the surrounding community, which tend to be segregated Black and Latinx communities, working class communities, or poor white communities.

In effect, the “interactions between campus police and the communities they police” should be better reflected in the literature (Miller & Russell-Brown, 2023, pp. 99–100). It is because of their unique position in society, and available resources, “institutions are perfect case studies to rethink policing as it relates to community safety more broadly” (Miller & Russell-Brown, 2023, p. 101).

Recent revelations about the relationship between American and Israeli police further deteriorates citizen trust in the institution of policing. These United States–Israel police exchanges are longstanding and have been ongoing since the early 2000s (Meyerson-Knox, 2022). In Israel, American police agencies spanning local, state and federal agencies receive among other things, training in surveillance, riot suppression and the suppression of protests through force (Meyerson-Knox, 2022). Such trainings are problematic because they (1) occur within the context of an apartheid system of racial superiority, and (2) considering the endemic racial tensions and evidence of racial profiling in the United States, they further entrench a racist ideology within policing.

Campus protests in Canada

Universities had been transformed in the 1960s from comfortable retreats into agents of intellectual foment, social change and political action (Coates, 2012). As (Coates. 2012, n.p.) indicates:

Universities had long stood apart intellectually from the Canadian mainstream, but finally, in the 1960s, began to reflect society at large. The humanities and social sciences expanded rapidly. Women, minorities, immigrants and working-class Canadians came to campuses in record numbers and, later, showed up at the front of the classroom. They brought new perspectives on the issues of the day, challenging the patriarchal, middle-class hegemony that had dominated Canadian universities for generations. With some exceptions, faculty members and administrators stood behind student radicals and protestors. Many faculty members used the classroom and their writing to support hitherto unpopular causes.

And yet, Canada, unfortunately, is not immune to using police to silence peaceful student protests. For example, in 1968, Simon Fraser University was accustomed to upheaval “when approximately 200 students occupied the university's administration building that year – purportedly to demand equitable admissions processes, though some activists hoped to spark a direct confrontation with campus officials” (Lexier, 2024, n.p.). As a result, then university president Ken Strand called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to quell the protest, resulting in 114 students handcuffed and arrested. At Montréal's Sir George Williams University – now Concordia – 97 students were arrested for their role in a 1969 occupation protesting racist policies and practices (Lexier, 2024). Police were also called to arrest 49 students during protests against the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings at University of British Columbia in 1997; the Trent Eight, who were detained at Trent University in 2001 after occupying a college about to be closed; and the 2,000-plus students arrested during the 2012 tuition protests in Québec. Yet, no campus protests in Canada have fuelled the type of violence playing out on United States campuses now as students protest Israel's bombardment of Gaza (discussed below).

Inspired by protests in the United States, campuses across Canada are heating up as the pro-Palestinian student protest movement gains momentum. ⁷ Appalled by the growing death toll in Gaza, activists have set up encampments on campuses nationwide. Akin to their American counterparts, the protesters are demanding that universities divest from companies with business ties to Israel (Berrada, 2024). Public demonstrations have occurred on an almost weekly basis across Canada since violence re-emerged between Israel and Palestine on 7 October. However, these protests have had very limited impact, often going unaddressed in the media (Berrada, 2024). Student protests, on the other hand, have had a far greater impact in the media and the political sphere. While many federal and provincial leaders have reiterated their respect for student freedom, they have also called for calm and cautioned against hate speech (Berrada, 2024).

The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) (2024) released a statement outlining their position on growing campus protests, wherein they defend the right to free expression and assembly on university and college campuses while also “condemning those institutions that have or are threatening to have police forcibly remove and arrest peaceful protesters” (CAUT, 2024, n.p.). They go on to state:

Universities and colleges must be places that foster debate, dialogue and free expression. The forcible removal and heavy-handed arrests of peaceful student protesters who pose no demonstrable threat to campus safety are inimical to the mission of post-secondary institutions and contrary to the democratic rights expressed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

CAUT policy emphasises that police and campus security services must never be used to constrain academic freedom, free expression or peaceful assembly. The police should be permitted to intervene on campus only where there is a clear and imminent threat of violence, violation of criminal law by an assembly, or a serious violation of the rights of others. Simply asserting that peaceful assemblies are ‘trespassing’ on university or college property is not justification enough for abrogating fundamental democratic rights.

University and college leaders have a positive obligation to defend expressive freedoms and the autonomy of their institutions. They fail in that duty when they capitulate to political and donor pressure to silence debate.

Academic institutions must be places that encourage dialogue in the pursuit of understanding and knowledge. There is no justification for police crackdowns on peaceful assemblies on campus. (CAUT, 2024, n.p)

In effect, these dynamics are still at play in the current debate on free speech on campuses, wherein universities have become prime targets for politicians and certain media outlets. Certainly, universities are bastions of free expression and debate, and play a crucial role in preserving informed, democratic societies. But the real challenge lies in drawing a clear line between reasonable expression and hate speech – a task universities in Canada continue to face with increasing discomfort. Moreover, students (and to an extent, faculty) play a significant role as society's moral compass. Most often these interests manifest in causes such as keeping tuition fees low; however, though this collective social consciousness may often be seen as self-interested, “students view it as part of building a more just society” (Berrada, 2024, n.p.) especially as students “have a long history of weighing in on social debates” (Berrada, 2024, n.p.). This long history has lent them moral legitimacy in social procedure. As such, students can have significant impact on social discussions and decision-making.

Campus protests in Australia

Like their American and Canadian counterparts, students in Australia have a long history of campus activism. In a report titled When the bombs drop, school stops: Over 100 years of Australian school strikes and direct action, McIntyre (2022) recounts significant historical events that led to student protests from 1914 to 2022. Student activism during this period included students from all grade levels as well as students in post-secondary institutions. Moreover, “at a school level issues have included resistance to corporal punishment and gender segregation as well as campaigns to increase student control over what they can wear, say, learn and do” (McIntyre, 2022).

Recently, several Australian universities have experienced some form of protest in support of the Palestinian cause, three of which have established encampments and a list of demands for their respective administrations, including the Universities of Melbourne, Sydney, and Queensland (Students 4 Gaza, n.d.). Similar encampments have been established in the United Kingdom and France as this movement becomes global (Whiteman & Watson, 2024). Administrative responses to student protests in Australia are not unique and fall within three broad categories, (1) Expression champions, (2) Force enforcers, and (3) Penalty imposers. Pro-Palestinian students in Australia have experienced some variation of all three categories from university administration. An example of an expression champion is the Vice Chancellor Mark Scott of the University of Sydney who reacted by recognising the importance of free expression despite the possibility that some statements made by the protestors may make some counterprotests feel uncomfortable. “I am not convinced what is happening on US campuses demonstrates a pathway to greater safety and security for any students or staff, nor helps to build a community committed to free speech and thoughtful exchanges of divergent views”, Scott said. He continued, “you will get moments in protests that can be uncomfortable and upsetting” (Whiteman & Watson, 2024). Likewise, the University of Queensland stated that it is “committed to freedom of speech and is reiteration expectations what while expressing their views, people treat one another with dignity and respect to ensure our community can go about their studies, research, work or other activities” (Whiteman & Watson, 2024).

In contrast, some university administrators in Australia have taken a different approach to student protestors, favouring a United States-style policing approach. An example of a force enforcer is that of Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Melbourne, Michael Wesley who stated that student protestors “crossed a line” when they occupied the Arts West building and threatened to involve the police (Cassidy et al., 2024). Wesley warned that he and other administrators are working collaboratively with the police to maintain control and eventually end the protests. Furthermore, he stated that “there could be criminal charges if [activists] continue to defy the orders of the university and the orders of the Victoria police” and a refusal to evacuate peacefully would force administrators “to go down the more forceful route” (Cassidy et al., 2024). As we discuss shortly, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Wesley, much like other administrators in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere relied on codes of conduct and other vague policies to justify the threat of police action against protestors (Cassidy et al., 2024).

Finally, Deakin University Vice Chancellor Iain Martin and Deputy Vice Chancellor Kerrie Parker represent our third category of responses, that of a penalty imposer. When student protestors at Deakin did not heed calls by administrators to disband their encampment, Martin sent an email to students and staff suggesting that the university's code of conduct was violated by students who expressed “unacceptable language and behaviour”. This was followed by an email by Parker to the organiser of the encampment – Jasmine Duff. In it, Parker warned that Duff would be “subject to student misconduct procedures if she did not obey the order to immediately dismantle”. (Cassidy et al., 2024). While seemingly reasonable, these policies are often used as pretexts for further actions by administrators against protestors. Indeed, we argue in the next section that these university policies are comparable to the dubious and subjective interpretations by police, such as stop and frisk policies in the United States, that allow them to target certain racial groups, often with impunity.

Policies of exclusion

Ongoing protests at American, Canadian, and Australian universities have revealed an important convergence point between higher education and policing that rely on vague policies as pretexts for exclusion. It is important to understand how these operate in both settings before turning to an explanation of how they converge on college campuses today amidst ongoing student protests. In policing, ample research has found that Broken Windows policing tactics have had disproportionate and detrimental impacts on communities of colour and younger people (New York Civil Liberties Union, n.d.). Specifically, such practices have focused on vague and often subjective criteria for police officers to initiate interactions with the public, often leading to undue stigma through the criminal legal system (e.g., fines, incarceration, etc.) Many of these interactions are pretextual in nature and rely on reasonable suspicion – a standard of legal proof that increases officer discretion and therefore their subjective interpretation of events. Evidence for the existence of police pretextual stops has been well documented and includes “driving while black” (or Brown), “out of place” or border patrol, urban control, or “Terry stops” (also known as stop-and-frisk) (for extended discussion, see Welch, 2011). In a way, then, these obscure policies act as permissive legal mechanisms for police to use as a way of demonstrating their effectiveness while doing so on the most marginalised and politically weak members in our society.

Such exclusive policies existed in some fashion across all three nations and have impacted various communities at different times. These include historical policies such as The Commonwealth Franchise Act of 1901 which disenfranchised Aboriginal Australians from political involvement. They have been excluded from obtaining pensions through the Invalid and Old-Age Pension Act of 1908. First Nations women were made ineligible to receive many state benefits such as social security provided to injured or retired White women, as well as maternity allowance, also provided to White women (Skinner, 2021). The significance of these historical policies lies in their lasting dual legacies of marginalisation and stigma. This legacy leads many Aboriginal students to empathise with the struggles of those in Palestine and join others on Australian campuses in resisting the ongoing genocide.

Colleges and universities have similarly relied on or abruptly altered antiquated and vague policies to clear out student encampments using police violence. For example, Indiana University administrators formed an ad-hoc committee to revisit an old policy that allocated the 20-Acre Dunn Meadow lot for peaceful protests half a century ago, when they learned that students intended to set up a pro-Palestinian rally the next day. The change was abrupt, intentional, and highly subjective, sparking outrage among many students, staff, and faculty. According to Steve Sanders, a Constitutional Law Professor at the University, “it is entirely inferable, in this case, that this policy was changed in anticipation of the pro-Palestinian protester's specific conduct and speech. That's where this becomes a First Amendment issue”. He continued, “you can change the rules, but you can’t change them to target or disadvantage a particular group” (Knox, 2024). We contend that it is this subjectivity that ties university policies and practices to policing. Indeed, relying on the newly created policy, University administrators called upon Indiana State Police to dismantle the encampments. This led to the arrest and brutalisation of students by the police, who also positioned snipers atop some of the university buildings. Such selective approaches to policy enforcement lend credibility to critics who argue that these measures are not genuinely rooted in public safety but are instead driven by anti-Palestinian racism.

As we have seen, the convergence of these practices by universities and law enforcement agencies is revelatory. Mokhtari's (2024) examination of what she calls “markers of entanglement” between universities and carceral spaces is an important departure point for our work as we extend it beyond the six markers she identifies. Specifically, Mokhtari's (2024) work highlights the role of the neoliberal university – with emphasis on criminology departments – in pandering to corporate interests. She argues that criminology departments are increasingly marketing themselves as doors of opportunities for potential consumers, as a pipeline of employment into and within the criminal justice system. By so doing, the focus of criminology (and the university) turns away from being a public good, but one tied to corporate and financial interests that must be harnessed and protected. Pro-Palestinian protests have revealed this in previously understudied ways. An integral component of these student protests has been the call on universities to divest themselves from financial institutions that fund wars broadly and the Israeli military specifically. In turning to police to disrupt these protests, universities aligned themselves squarely with corporate profits over their stated missions as institutions of higher learning and producers of knowledge. Policing is marred with similar issues. Consider America's slave patrols that were tasked with ensuring that escaped slaves were apprehended and punished because their escape (or rebellion) posed a threat to economic stability in the South (Bhattar, 2021). Thus, policing once again aligns with corporate interests by obstructing protesters in their efforts to secure divestments from their universities.

Recruitment for diverse futures

Within policing scholarship there are those who question the value of a more diverse police force (for an extended discussion, see for example Vitale, 2017). Our concern here is not to challenge this assumption. ⁸ However, amid ongoing calls for reform, with diversification of the police force as a foundational element, we highlight some of the challenges faced by law enforcement agencies. Similarly, as universities face unprecedented enrolment challenges due to the oncoming demographic cliff (Harvey, 2021), we discuss the ways in which ongoing suppression of students – many of whom are from minoritised communities – makes diversification more difficult.

Police recruiting

Policing has had a contentious history in the United States, Canada and Australia in part due to its origins as a repressive force and an extension of settler colonialism. Especially when one considers the parallels between Canada and Australia, “colonial policing and punishment of Indigenous peoples evolved as an inherent part of the colonial state-building process on the connected nineteenth century frontiers” of south-central Australia and western Canada (Nettelbeck & Smandych, 2010, p. 356). While the historical scholarship on the relationship between Indigenous people, police and the law in colonial settings is vast (Cunneen, 2001; Finnane, 1994; Neal, 1991; Smandych, 2009), Nettelbeck and Smandych (2010) remind us of the historical cross-national patterns by which Indigenous peoples were made subject to British law, most especially through colonial policing practices, but also how it continues into the present. ⁹ Today, settler colonial countries like Canada, the United States and Australia have come to acknowledge the need for a diverse and representative police force. This acknowledgement comes at the heels of massive social uprisings around high-profile killings of Black and Brown citizens. The latest catalyst for global outcries has been the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis (Martin & Higginbotham, 2024). With the advent of social media and cell phone cameras, instances of racialised police violence have thrust the institution of policing into the public square (Dejmanee et al., 2022). ¹⁰ Each occurrence comes with renewed calls for change and the recognition that racialised violence is both disproportionate and endemic to the institution (Dejmanee et al., 2022). As policing faces increased scrutiny from the public it also faces declining legitimacy. Some academics and activists have called for increased public oversight, implicit bias training, and efforts to diversify the police force, making it representative of the communities served (Ikerd & Walker, 2010). As such, law enforcement efforts aimed at recruiting from minoritised communities is significantly hampered. As many studies focus on organisational factors that determine successful recruitment of minorities (Fielding, 2024; Rigaux & Cunningham, 2021), more attention needs to be paid to the communities themselves and their diverse and wide-ranging perspectives. In sum, the homogenising of “minority communities” is problematic in that it lacks nuanced perspectives as to why some might be more inclined to a policing career than others.

One such challenge is the use of force against pro-Palestinian college students. Such actions by police are controversial and have been met with backlash from many who are sympathetic to the student protestors’ cause. Moreover, these actions continue to erode an already fledgeling trust that exists between the police and minority communities. This is especially true when we consider that many pro-Palestinian college students come from diverse backgrounds and use of force likely exacerbates feelings of alienation and mistrust towards the police. Indeed, research on Muslims and the police has demonstrated that several factors contribute to negative perceptions of the police, including fear of negative treatment due to race, ethnicity or religion (Asfari & Shuraydi, 2020). Aggressive policing of social justice movements has not aided law enforcement agencies in building bridges within minority communities (Shanahan & Wall, 2021). Negative publicity surrounding these events has far-reaching implications, especially in the age of social media. Such publicity may deter individuals from minoritised backgrounds to consider law enforcement careers, thereby undermining efforts to create a more representative police force. It is crucial to dismantle the toxic subculture within policing that perpetuates disproportionate control and violence against BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) communities. Failure to address this issue legitimises the well-known phenomenon describing Black officers in blue (police) uniforms as being “not black, but blue” (Carbado & Richardson, 2018; see also Wall, 2020).

University recruiting

University websites in the United States, Canada and Australia are intentional components of their recruitment and retention strategies with an emphasis on diverse student populations (Paul, 2014). Indeed, universities are increasingly interested in recruiting international students to offset domestic enrolment shortages (Shooshtari, 2023). Such strategies are not inherently problematic, though when considering current attempts to suppress student dissent – often emanating from racialised students – it becomes paradoxical if not harmful to the long-term recruitment objectives set out by university administrations. Specifically, the issues arise when we consider the economic implications of such recruitment strategies. On the one hand, universities seek racialised and increasingly international students to better position themselves financially by generating increased tuition revenue. Reliance on Black and Brown communities for economic stability and growth must be accompanied by mutual understanding of the issues that impact said communities. Failing to do so reduces minoritised students to a one-sided economic relationship that privileges colleges and regards racialised students to an end. Current administrative strategies that attempt to silence student protests – irrespective of the demographic composition of the protestors – sends a strong signal that the plight of minority communities (in this case, Palestinians) is irrelevant.

Student protests have highlighted instances where certain universities appear to be involved in aspects of societal conflict and control, which may extend beyond conventional expectations for institutions that emphasise openness, knowledge sharing, tolerance and acceptance. Therefore, genuine efforts to recruit, support and retain a diverse student body must transcend superficial diversity statements and initiatives. Universities need to actively engage with issues affecting minority students, including listening to student demands and taking concrete steps to divest from corporations whose objectives conflict with the university's stated values.

The diversity-dissent paradox: Ongoing challenges and ethics of policing dissent, civil disobedience and tolerance of disruption

Now that we have explored both the challenges of diversifying police forces and campus protest, where does that leave us and the current realities, we are seeing on university campuses? We argue the diversity-dissent paradox best describes the current situation, particularly when one considers the historical linkage between higher education and police forces.

Certainly, we can raise a whole host of questions when we take a step back to understand this paradox: how does diverse identity coalesce or conflict with an individual police officer's work? If there is conflict, at what point did the police officer change? Was it when they were recruited? Or when they retired from the police force? Or somewhere in between? Is it the external identity, the identity of police assigned by others, that gives a racialised person identity conflict? While we may start questioning police culture (i.e., who is part of the culture? Why do they want to preserve it?) we can begin to interrogate identity, what it means to change, and what makes us who we are. Reflecting upon the blurred lines between police and the military in Australia, (McCulloch, 2022, n.p.) underscores how “non-white identities continue to bare the heaviest burden to police…especially those marginalised by poverty, discrimination, and as activists and protesters[.]” Moreover, we can raise the distinction between how others perceive us, and how we see ourselves; the very act of expression becomes entangled with identity formation inasmuch as our presence (and associated identity) is entangled within and constellates around the relevance of our social histories, morals, and values. We can also question what this change means to wider society, and whether society at large should change alongside us. For example, does the “Black Lives Matter” movement challenge the “Blue Lives Matter” movement? Can these identities intersect, or are they diametrically opposed (for example, see Dejmanee et al., 2022; Shanahan & Wall, 2021; Thomas & Tufts, 2020; Wall, 2020)?

Now, consider the modern iteration of campus protest and dissent. Understanding the reasons behind the growing scepticism regarding campus protests is crucial, as it connects to the fundamental concepts of academic freedom and critical thought. Reflecting upon the Canadian context, Coates, 2012, (n.p.) contends “many of the country's most radical, creative, and outspoken commentators work or study at universities and use the campus as a pulpit. This is how it should be”. Yet, what determines dissent from civil disobedience from criminality in society – laws, norms, social mores, or some hybrid of all three? Civil disobedience breaks the rules. We follow Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., philosophers John Rawls and Ronald Dworkin, among others, in thinking of civil disobedience to continue the big democratic conversation even though the law could be broken to do so. When they break the law, peaceful protesters are trying to engage the rest of us in a conversation about justice. In many cases of protest (indicated above), and especially with the war in Gaza, students engage in civil disobedience because they feel they cannot get a fair hearing through legal channels. They feel “the legal channels of democratic deliberation and decision-making [are] blocked, in turn [sic] by prejudice, rigged rules, money, and raw power” (Fung, 2024, n.p.). Indeed, in these cases, students broke the law; but they broke the law to get the people in authority positions to review and reconsider policies they believe to be unjust. Yet, there is no question that protest can rise to the point at which police action is warranted. Certainly, one would agree that police should protect people's lives and safety when protests grow and become violent (as the “counter protest” did at University of California, Los Angeles recently) (Fung, 2024). Yet, university communities – students, faculty, administrators, alum and donors – and external stakeholders such as politicians remain deeply divided; what is to be done about campus protests and dissent, and when should the police come in? How should universities and law enforcement respond to such potent expressions of student activism?

Countries are taking different approaches to manage protest encampments, which speaks in part to their respective political climates and the contexts of individual campus protests. While the act of dissent and protest can help us reflect on the very purposes of university spaces – and whether and to what extent these spaces are safeguarded – has the modern campus become now something more than freedom of thought, something that attempts to right the wrongs of the past and advocate for justice and reconciliation (broadly conceived)? Dissent and protest can also inform society of how much disruption is tolerable. If so, then is it time to give new meaning to these spaces? And following on, is it time to give new meaning to the identity of the police force? Can diverse police recruits help give new meaning to safeguarding these many spaces or, like Sisyphus, are we attempting to roll a huge boulder up a steep hill that while laborious, is fruitless? Is it truly possible to balance the pursuit of justice with obligations of institutional harmony?

Of course, the diversity-dissent paradox raises more questions than we can answer here, and it could take volumes of articles to do so beyond our own article here. Notwithstanding, our conceptual thought-experiment-of-sorts offers an opportunity to study these questions because both the university campus and the police forces are notions that have existed in more than one instance. Examining the pair in this unique way potentially exposes society's core values, interrogating the very concept and function of critical thought in society, and how best to safeguard such thinking. Our society continues to evolve over time, developing a rich mosaic of culture, knowledge and identities; so, whose police force is it now? Whose university campus is it now? And whose society is it now? These questions, and many more, is what we envision the diversity-dissent paradox to explore.

Recommendations for future research

To begin, future research in this area should delve into the enduring repercussions of counterterrorism measures on Muslim communities post-9/11, exploring the multifaceted impacts on socio-economic, psychological and cultural aspects. Understanding how intersecting identities such as race, ethnicity, religion and immigration status shape the experiences of campus protesters and police officers is crucial. Future research should also empirically explore the ethics of campus policing and protests as it relates to experiences and perspectives from students, faculty, campus security and police officers themselves. This could be accomplished through a triangulation of methods, such as qualitative semi-structured interviews with specific individuals; group interviews; participation observation and/or shadowing of campus protests; and quantitative surveys conducted (1) at one specific university-as-case study; (2) universities in one country; and (3) university sectors between jurisdictions (e.g., between countries in the Global North versus the Global South, or between settler colonial nations historically tied to British rule). This includes longitudinal studies of campus protest and security strategies that chart patterns across university campus settings, as doing so would help map out the objectives and goals of academic freedom and peaceful assembly in and across university sectors. Additionally, exploring the intergenerational effects of stigma on family dynamics and the transmission of stigma across generations is essential, especially on those who partake in campus protests. Future studies may also wish to evaluate campus policies on protest that are implemented within specific universities and determine whether policies uphold peaceful assembly, and evaluated whether policies should be amended or retracted altogether if they do not do this. Moreover, these events must prompt a reassessment of policies related to campus protests.

As Miller and Russell-Brown (2023, p. 113) indicate, police presence on a college campus “does not insulate them [the police] from the systemic issues of policing more generally […] [They] engage in the same patterns of coercive police tactics, militarisation, police violence, and racial hostility and discrimination as their municipal counterparts”. ¹¹ The authors recommend several avenues of research into campus police, such as (1) interactions between campus police officers and the greater campus community; and (2) reporting requirements on race-related crimes. Other points of research include (3) the expansion of the legal authority and protections of campus police officers at public and private institutions (see Miller, 2024); (4) the college-prison nexus (see Johnson & Dizon, 2021); (5) the influence of campus police officers on campus climate; (6) perceptions of legitimacy of campus police officers; and (7) community oversight into the policies and practices of campus policing. Finally, we would encourage research into police initiatives like community support programmess, cultural competency training, public awareness campaigns, and increased research funding are imperative for fostering inclusive and supportive environments for Muslim and other racialised communities in society.

Concluding thoughts

In times of heated debate and public demonstration, past lessons can illuminate the path to a more harmonious future. Furthermore, as society continues to grapple with the complexities of campus protest and dissent, we must equally continue to question whether police are doing enough to diversify their force, and whether doing so is a means to a higher and more just end. While these questions seem distant from one another, our article has demonstrated how they connect through our discussion of the diversity-dissent paradox. Whether we are focusing upon police diversity recruitment challenges or campus protest and dissent, dialogue and engagement are critical. In terms of the latter, universities must not only be bastions of learning but also forums for open dialogue, where conflicting views can be expressed safely and constructively. As Lawrence (2024, n.p.) reminds us, “[u]niversity crackdowns only serve to stoke student opposition. Given time, they can alienate a school community – faculty, students, and alumni alike, including those without a stake in the conflict”. Following on, police forces could take further cues from their academic counterparts and reimagine their working cultures and teachings to encourage open dialogue where conflicting views may arise. The arrests that have punctuated these protests serve as a reminder of the potential consequences of activism that crosses into the realm of civil disobedience. But is such crossing necessary for diverse peoples and dissenting voices to be given a chance to be heard? We leave this question for the cautious reader to consider.

Finally, another important question to consider is whether the ongoing student protests are exclusively motivated by the crisis in Gaza, or if they signal a pivotal moment reflecting the discontent among a generation of young people regarding broader social issues. These encompass concerns such as inflation, ongoing global conflicts and the rapid advancement of technology, all of which significantly impact the outlook of individuals entering a rapidly evolving workforce. Thinking about these issues is important for institutions of higher education and law enforcement agencies, both of which are intricately entwined in addressing these multifaceted social challenges. While the strategies they may adopt remain uncertain, it is evident that they must prioritise genuine inclusivity and enact substantial reforms aimed at mitigating adverse effects on the communities they serve.

Our conceptual article underscores the imperative for nuanced approaches that navigate the complex landscapes of university campuses and the safeguarding of academic freedom and critical thought with sensitivity to legal, societal, and individual complexities. By embracing these insights, we can strive towards a future where we may be able to reconcile the seemingly irreconcilable discussions surrounding police diversity challenges on the one hand and campus protest and dissent on the other. What is clear from our exploration of the diversity-dissent paradox is it remains a timely and warranted topic of inquiry, requiring greater scholarly and public attention.