Police officers and students came together Feb. 11 at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in an attempt to confront issues of racial disparity and general law enforcement. The discussion, titled “Preventing Police-Minority Problems,” was part of the campus’ celebration of Black History Month, which continues through the month of February to promote cultural awareness. Dr. Selika Ducksworth-Lawton, associate professor of history and Black Student Alliance adviser at UW-Eau Claire, moderated the event. She said the event had a six-person panel with representatives from the city and campus police departments, state public defenders office and minority students from UWEC. There were about 37 other students and community members in attendance. She said police initiated the event in October, in an effort to reach out to the student community. “Students tend to be afraid of police,” Ducksworth-Lawton said. “The discussion was an attempt to lower fear; police really do want to work with students.” Ducksworth-Lawton said police enforcement officers addressed case-specific questions as well as general concerns, with an emphasis of the discussion on the treatment of minorities, specifically in cases of racial profiling. Chief David Sprick of the UWEC Police Department was on the panel. He said most of the anecdotal situations shared by students related to traffic stops where students felt their race played a factor. “Police are working with the university community to make sure that students know what’s going on, what their rights are and that if there are problems they can file complaints,” Ducksworth-Lawton said. In response to students’ concerns, Sprick discussed police initiatives, such as a law that will put a quantitative measure on the racial profiling problem by requiring officers to collect and cite background data of all people stopped in traffic violations. “It’s important for the community to see all perspectives,” Sprick said. “The discussion was another step in the right direction to becoming more active listeners.” Ducksworth-Lawton said while there has not been a specific incident that triggered the need for the police-minority discussion, the city has seen an increase in consent searches and stops of minorities. “We are trying to be ahead of the curve to prevent any racial incident from happening before it occurs,” Ducksworth-Lawton said. Ducksworth-Lawton added although the discussion was one of the most important events being held for Black History Month, there are many other upcoming events that will push awareness in a more relaxed, fun way. Steven Olikara, Associated Students of Madison Diversity Committee chair, said UW is also working on ways to promote an inclusive climate on campus. “Our key initiative is to get student leaders together, engaged in focused conversation to see how we can make connections among student organizations,” Olikara said. In response to racial profiling, Olikara said he knows it is an ongoing problem, but hasn’t witnessed any recent incidents on campus.