Campus Militarization: A Slippery Slope to Surveillance States?

A recent investigation by CalMatters has exposed a disturbing trend among California’s public colleges and universities. The accumulation of military-grade equipment, including AR-15-style rifles, stun grenades, and long-range acoustic devices, is widespread across the state’s institutions.

The investigation, which examined 148 campuses across the California Community Colleges, University of California, and California State University systems, uncovered a staggering lack of accountability and oversight. Many campus police departments failed to publish required reports or omitted key details from their inventories. For example, UC Berkeley’s police department did not publish its military equipment inventory until April, despite the UC Board of Regents having approved the report months earlier.

The law in question, authored by former Democratic Assemblymember David Chiu, aims to ensure that police agencies acquire military equipment only when civilian safety cannot be achieved through less militarized alternatives. However, many campuses have disregarded this stipulation, opting instead for a militarized approach to campus security.

California state law requires public oversight and transparency over such weapons, but the investigation reveals widespread failures to comply with these requirements. The use of long-range acoustic devices, which can emit sounds reaching 160 decibels – loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage – is particularly concerning. Such tactics are inhumane and undermine the principles of academic freedom and dissent.

Student-led coalitions have pushed back against campus militarization, demonstrating the power of activism on college campuses. At Mt. San Antonio College, students organized demonstrations and packed a board meeting to protest the proposed addition of AR-15 rifles to the department’s arsenal. Their efforts led to the college’s decision not to purchase the rifles.

Some campuses have updated their policies or pledged to reduce military equipment inventories in response to the investigation. However, compliance with state law remains patchy at best. The California State University Board of Trustees has not reviewed its systemwide military equipment policy since 2022, despite the law requiring annual approval.

The debate over campus militarization extends beyond the issue of weapons themselves. As student César Tlatoāni Alvarado notes, “College campuses are a focal point for where our activism can translate into real-world change.” By quashing dissent and surveillance, institutions of higher learning risk stifling the very spirit of academic inquiry that they purport to foster.

The accumulation of military-grade equipment on college campuses is a harbinger of a more insidious threat: the normalization of surveillance states. By prioritizing security over transparency and accountability, institutions of higher learning risk undermining democratic principles.

The CalMatters investigation serves as a wake-up call to policymakers, administrators, and students alike. It is time for us to reexamine our priorities and recognize the need for greater transparency and oversight in campus security. This requires a fundamental shift away from militarized approaches and towards a more collaborative and inclusive model of campus safety.

The consequences of inaction are clear: continued militarization on college campuses will erode trust between students, administrators, and law enforcement. The future of our democracy depends on our ability to engage with difference, challenge authority, and push back against the forces of repression. By doing so, we can create a more just and equitable society – one that values transparency, accountability, and the free exchange of ideas above all else.

As César Tlatoāni Alvarado eloquently puts it: “There’s many more of us than there are of them.” Let us seize this moment to reclaim our campuses as spaces for activism, dissent, and the pursuit of knowledge.