Message from our president

Dear Seattle Central Community,

I write today to update you on an escalating safety situation at our Broadway campus.

After the city cleared the six-block area near the East Precinct on July 1, known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) zone, some of the people who had camped in and around Cal Anderson Park moved their encampments to the green spaces of Seattle Central’s South Plaza.

Seattle Central College supports the exercise of free speech, and we stand in solidarity with the protests against police brutality and in support of Black Lives Matter. Our South Plaza is, in fact, officially a protest area. But it is not a designated camping ground or a shelter space.

The settlement of tents and awnings on that site is growing and it’s taking on an aggressive and intimidating posture. Vehicles are illegally driving and parking on sidewalks and on the brick area of our plaza. Some of the people in the encampment are intimidating people passing by, farmers market patrons, and employees at the college. Firearms have been openly brandished; guns on campus are strictly prohibited even for those who have a permit for a concealed weapon. In addition, an increasing amount of human waste is posing a health hazard for the area.

Many of you may remember that we resolved the Occupy encampment in 2011 by working with protestors, the city, and community members to have the site voluntarily dismantled. We are trying the same approach again. Last week, representatives of the city’s Navigation Team for homeless response visited the encampment – as they did at the CHOP for weeks with Public Health A Seattle King County officials – to provide emergency housing resources. We have officially handed out notices to vacate or risk being charged with trespassing. The bulk of campers are refusing to do so, and more seem to be setting up tents on site.

Police sweeps and the criminalization of homelessness are not consistent with our values as a campus. However, we must balance our commitment to activism with ensuring the health, safety, and wellbeing of our neighborhood, staff, students, and visitors.

We continue to work with the city, CHOP organizers, and community-based organizations to reach the same kind of voluntary dismantling of this occupation as we did in 2011. In this case, however, the urgency for action is severe given the open display of weapons on campus. If we are not able to reach agreement with organizers for voluntary dismantling within the next few days, we will be forced to call upon the city to remove the encampment to protect the health and safety of our community.

We will share more news about this situation as it becomes available. We will do everything in our power to make sure our campus remains a safe and welcoming place to work, study, and where people can speak and protest for justice and positive change.

Sincerely,

Sheila Edwards Lange
President, Seattle Central College