The Collegian received an email from Colorado State University Student Legal Services Attorney Robert Lowrey explaining that he is resigning from the University in protest of CSUPD’s Bike Enforcement Education Program. According to Lowrey, Community Service Officers within CSUPD, who are students, are identifying themselves as police officers to students they pull over. Their uniforms and bikes also give students the impression that they are police officers. Lowrey believes that this is an issue because students are unaware of their rights when dealing with CSOs, namely that students do not have to treat them like certified police officers.
We agree that students should be aware of who they are dealing with and what rights they have. In order to solve this issue, we believe that all CSU students working as CSOs should identify themselves as student employees with CSUPD to those they pull over. CSOs should at no point refer to themselves as police officers or give students the impression that they are officers. This way, everyone involved will know their rights and know who they are speaking with.
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However, though students should be aware that they are not being ticketed by police officers, they are being ticketed by CSUPD student employees and should be respectful of the process. CSOs are there to make sure that everyone on campus bikes safely, and their enforcement should be taken seriously.
