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FROM THE FRONT

Salovey reaffirms commitment to armed campus police force

POLICE FROM PAGE 1

For King, a Yale without the YPD would be more approachable and inclusive, as well as make some students feel safer.

The YPD was founded in 1894 after Yale medical students were suspected of stealing cadavers from a New Haven graveyard, which caused clashes between students and city residents. The violence prompted two New Haven Police Department officers to volunteer as officers exclusively assigned to Yale’s campus. 127 years later, the YPD has grown into a force of 93 officers with two assistant chiefs — including a patrol unit, an emergency services unit and an investigative unit.

Central among 21CP’s recommendations is the implementation of a differential response model, by which police officers would not be the sole responders to calls.

“The adoption of a formalized differential response model will provide YPD officers with more time to engage in the type of community and problem-oriented policing that this report addresses in other recommendations as well as in core law enforcement and crime prevention activity,” the report reads. “It will also provide services to the Yale community that may be understood by that community as less intrusive.”

The report defines differential response as strategies which differentiate requests for police response based on what action would be most apt to the call. These strategies are supposed to provide a variety of options that extend beyond simply dispatching an officer. For example, a call made to the YPD complaining about loud noises could be directed to residential college officials or Yale Security, rather than to a YPD officer. The report also calls on the University to improve cooperation between Yale Security and the YPD.

Salovey affirmed the importance of differential response, claiming that not everything should be treated “like a police matter.” By diversifying the means of responding to YPD

YALE DAILY NEWS

President Salovey doubled down on the necessity of maintaining a police force at Yale.

calls, Salovey said, the University can ensure that the “right expertise” is brought to every situation.

Salovey spoke of a committee on policing which is soliciting student input and suggestions on this issue. He added that the University will continue its reforms beyond the recommendations of the 21CP report.

“An important point is we’re not going to stop just with the 21CP report,” Salovey said. “We’re going to be continually improving organization with respect to the YPD and Yale Security and keep trying to learn from the community on what is working and what is not.”

Still, some students on campus are continuing to call for a full abolition of the YPD.

Callie Benson-Williams ’23, the current chair of BSDY, criticized 21CP’s report as failing to propose any fundamental changes to policing at Yale, saying that “it doesn’t really take into account the problems of YPD existing at all, and even the reforms are mainly about just funnelling more money into the police department.”

King agreed with Benson-Williams, saying that true change needs to be systematic and more than superficial level reforms. King said that he does not have high expectations that the University will implement such large-scale changes.

Benson-Williams added that one of the main shortcomings of the report is that it fails to address the distinction in jurisdiction between the YPD and New Haven Police Department.

While touting the importance of Yale Security, however, Salovey reaffirmed his commitment to the maintenance of an armed police force.

“There is a plan to maintain an unarmed security force, that’s Yale Security,” Salovey said. “There is not at present a plan to disarm the Yale Police Department.”

Yale is not alone in having an armed campus police force. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, around 75 percent of all U.S. college campuses used armed officers in 2011–12. Nearly all college campuses — about 94 percent — authorized officers to carry sidearms and chemical or pepper spray.

Salovey argued that it is important to have an armed security force in order to protect students from armed intruders on campus.

In order to balance this importance with the dangers of an armed police force, Salovey said that the solution is “very clear protocols” surrounding the use of an armed response. Salovey also established metrics of successful reform to campus security, saying that he hopes for a police force that is able to de-escalate situations and one that is fully integrated into the Yale community.

BSDY, however, pointed to the infrequency with which the YPD responds to calls of violence as evidence that the department is unnecessary. According to a report from BSDY, only 1.34 percent of calls to the YPD from 2015-2019 were assault and weapons related.

Outside of Yale College, graduate students have created Concerned and Organized Graduate Students, an organization that calls for YPD’s abolition.

“As a police and prison abolitionist, I and other members of the Yale community are calling for the complete abolition of the YPD, an armed campus police force that 1. Rarely (2-3% of the time) handles cases that involve intentional physical or psychological harm to persons, 2. Overwhelmingly fails to solve cases (92% failure to clear), and 3. perpetrates violence against Black and Brown Yale and New Haven residents,” Hannah Srajer GRD ’25, the co-founder of Concerned and Organized Graduate Students, wrote in an email to the News.

Srajer wrote that the YPD’s primary purpose is to protect Yale’s property and not its students, pointing to the fact that between 2015 and 2019, 55.85 percent of all crimes logged were related to protecting capital and assets.

She added that the majority of cases that YPD handles “would be better served by unarmed medical or emergency personnel.”

“The YPD must be replaced by a robust differential response system without police officers, and Yale must reinvest those millions of dollars into New Haven organizations that protect, serve, and uplift Black and Brown communities,” Srajer wrote.

This issue came to the forefront in April 2019, when a YPD officer and a Hamden police officer shot at two unarmed black New Haven residents, Stephanie Washington and Paul Witherspoon, as the couple were driving in their car. The incident occurred in Newhallville, a New Haven neighborhood over a mile from Yale’s campus, and set off protests in New Haven that called for the termination of the two officers and the disarmament of the YPD.

In October 2019, the Connecticut State’s Attorney concluded an investigation into the shooting and determined that the YPD’s jurisdiction matched that of the NHPD. The report stated that as the city of New Haven appointed YPD officers through its Board of Police Commissioners, the YPD officers have all the same powers as municipal NHPD officers.

“I think that the community would be safer without the YPD,” Benson-Williams said. “I think almost everything should be done by Yale Security, and that there are some issues of actual, imminent violence that should just be handled by the New Haven Police Department.”

Higgins was appointed as chief of the YPD in 2011.

Contact PHILIP MOUSAVIZADEH philip.mousavizadeh@yale.edu .

Team 148 to play Princeton in critical Ivy tiebreaker

TIGERS FROM PAGE 1

were beaten by the Big Green for the second straight season. Two years ago, when Yale and Princeton last met, the Bulldogs delivered arguably their best performance of the season, defeating the one-loss Tigers on the road by 37 points. The last Princeton victory over Yale came in 2018, when the Tigers went undefeated to win their first outright conference championship under head coach Bob Surace.

“They’re a veteran team and they’re a team that has had a lot of experience,” Reno said on Tuesday. “They’ve been a top level team in our league and a championship team in our league over the last five, six years … they’ve got a great program and I’ve got a lot of respect for Bob.”

As Team 148 suits up to take on the Tigers on the latter’s home turf, a near-perfect execution on both sides of the ball will be crucial for Yale to walk out of Powers Field with its hopes of an Ivy League crown still intact. Princeton ranks third in the conference in scoring and passing offense, thanks in large part to the electric connection between Cole Smith and Jacob Birmelin — one of the best quarterback-receiver tandems in the Ancient Eight. Smith has thrown for the second-most yards in the Ivy League, while Birmelin leads all receivers in receptions, yards and yards per game. There may be additional weight on their shoulders however, as running back Collin Eaddy’s status is uncertain after suffering an ankle injury last week in Hanover. The senior back has been averaging 4.3 yards a carry and his 477 rushing yards rank sixth in the conference. Eaddy also leads the Ancient Eight with 10 rushing touchdowns.

On the other side of the ball, Princeton boasts the third-best scoring defense in the conference, giving up only 17.5 points per game. The Tigers’ unit is led by senior linebacker Jeremiah Tyler, who has a long list of accolades. Tyler ended last season as a unanimous first-team All-Ivy player and a finalist for the conference’s defensive player of the year award. Entering this season, the Michigan native earned FCS All-American honors and was named to the Buchanan Award watch list for best defensive player in the FCS. Tyler is far from the only all-conference talent on the Tiger defense — defensive lineman Samuel Wright is second in the Ivy League this year in sacks and led the Princeton defensive line in tackles and sacks last season.

With key contributors going down due to injuries, the Eli offense has had to lean heavily on some new faces. Running back Spencer Alston ’23 has stepped up in the absence of Zane Dudek ’22 and has become a staple in Team 148’s offense. The junior’s breakout game came against Columbia, where he rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns to earn Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honors. Last week against the Bears, first-year receiver David Pantelis ’25 finished with a game-high and career-high 205 all-purpose yards to go along with two scores.

“There’s a great group of leaders ahead of us,” Pantelis said. “I know Melvin Rouse, he’s just been keeping me in his footsteps, teaching me really everything that he knows and helping me along with the playbook. I kind of have to give credit to him because he has been really a great role model and kind of just giving us a helping hand into learning the playbook, going through routes. Even when the coaches weren't there, he was always helping us in the summer … so when my turn came, I was able to be the most prepared that I could.”

Meanwhile, the Blue and White defense has been efficient and in groove all season long, due in no small part to the dominant presence of Clay Patterson ’24 on the defensive line. When looking at the numbers that the Texas native has put up in 2021, one could make a strong case that he has been one of the best and most consistent defenders in all the Ivy League. Patterson has registered a total of 10.5 sacks in the eight games he has started — three more than the next closest player in the Ancient Eight. He leads all other players with 12 tackles for loss and is fourth in the nation with 1.31 sacks per game. Along with Reid Nickerson ’23 at the other end of the line and captain John Dean ’22 in the backfield, this syndicate of defensive players has been the driving force behind a Bulldog defense that has put together the second best pass defense efficiency in the Ancient Eight.

Should Cornell upset Dartmouth this weekend just as it did in 2019, the winner between Princeton and Yale would clinch a share of the Ivy League crown and hold sole possession of first place entering the final game of the year. Otherwise, Saturday’s winner is guaranteed a chance to play for at least a share of the title in its season finale. For Team 148, that will be the Yale-Harvard game at Yale Bowl.

The loser will see their title hopes all but disappear, as the Ivy League has not seen a champion with two conference losses since 1982.

Contact JARED FEL at jared.fel@yale.eduand NADER GRANMAYEH at nader.granmayeh@yale.edu.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Children aged 5-11 are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations

The FDA announced the immediate authorization in an Oct. 29 release. In the release, officials cited the vaccine’s effectiveness and safety as two key factors in their decision to authorize vaccination for this younger age group. The officials noted that the vaccine was found to be 90.7 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 in children aged 5-11, with immune responses comparable to those of adolescents 16-25 years old. The vaccine’s safety was studied in approximately 3,100 children within the age group who received the vaccination without serious adverse effects detected in the ongoing trial.

This data, alongside assessments predicting that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh its risks, pushed the FDA to determine that the Pfizer vaccine has met the criteria for emergency use authorization in young children, according to the FDA release. This vaccine will be a lower dose than that of the Pfizer vaccination used for individuals over 12 years of age.

The vaccine distribution for children and families will be available from a variety of resources—pediatricians, pharmacies, school-based clinics, several health systems and local health departments—according to the press release.

The expanded eligibility is predicted to increase vaccination rates across the state. An estimated 277,630 children within the age group live in Connecticut and are eligible to start receiving doses, according to the press release.

Current regulations surrounding COVID-19 policy dictate that those vaccinated do not have to undergo quarantine if they have come in contact with a positive individual.

Yale University requires all students, faculty, staff and postdoctoral and postgraduate trainees to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine and comply with at least once-aweek testing.

Contact MAYA WEITZEN at maya.weitzen@yale.edu .

BY MAYA WEITZEN CONTRIBUTING REPORTER

Last week, Governor Ned Lamont and the Connecticut public health commissioner’s office announced that children aged 5-11 are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, following federal guidance.

Lamont and the Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner and Yale School of Medicine Professor Manisha Juthani issued a press release last Tuesday regarding the recent eligibility expansion of nearly all school-aged children to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. According to Thomas Murray, an associate professor of pediatric infectious diseases at the Yale School of Medicine, the expanded eligibility has the potential to help lower community transmission rates.

“Vaccination has the potential to help families keep their children out of quarantine from school following exposure to a case of COVID-19,” Murray told the News. “Also, many social activities, like concerts and sporting events, will be made possible, allowing kids to congregate together safely. It’s one more step towards a return to a normal lifestyle.”

This state-level approval follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent emergency use authorization of the vaccine in the 5-11 year-old age group.

In his press release, Lamont wrote that the new development will mean that almost everyone across the state “will have access to this life-saving tool.”

“I have heard from all of my public health advisors, and they are clear in their guidance – this vaccine is safe for kids and it works,” Lamont wrote.

According to Albert Ko, professor of public health and epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, children from infancy to 11 years old are in the age group with the highest risk of developing COVID-19 in Connecticut. Although they are significantly less likely to be hospitalized and die from the disease than the elderly, children can still develop severe complications. Furthermore, children may transmit COVID-19 to those who are at high risk for severe outcomes, especially if they live in multigenerational homes, Ko explained.

The fact that this age group will gain access to the vaccine, Ko said, represents “another success story in response to the pandemic.”

Ko continued: “The use of a safe and efficacious vaccine in children will have large benefits in preventing disease… keeping schools open and protecting vulnerable populations.”

CECILIA LEE/ILLUSTRATIONS EDITOR

Yale researchers find social support key to veterans’ mental health

BY GARREK CHAN CONTRIBUTING REPORTER

A Yale study conducted in collaboration with the National Center for PTSD found that social support is key to reducing veterans’ suicide risks.

In recent years, scientists have identified numerous genes associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors. From this data, polygenic risk scores can be calculated, which estimate an individual’s likelihood for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. For a team of researchers at Yale, a crucial question emerged: can a combination of psychological and social — psychosocial — factors buffer against a genetic risk for suicide?

In a paper published on Nov. 2 in Molecular Psychiatry, researchers found that among veterans with higher suicide polygenic risk scores, those with higher optimism and social support had a significantly lower likelihood of developing chronic suicidal thoughts. The study was led by Peter Na — a staff psychiatrist at the VA Connecticut Health System and clinical instructor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine — and Robert Pietrzak — director of the National Center for PTSD.

“These findings show that the interplay between biological and environmental factors are critical to understanding the complexity of suicidal behavior,” Pietrzak wrote in an email. “They are also the first [findings], to our knowledge, to identify psychosocial factors that may help mitigate risk for suicide.”

The study found that psychosocial factors are effective because they impact pathways involved in brain development, GABA signaling and synaptic organization—the same pathways impacted by genes associated with suicidal thoughts. Daniel Levey, assistant professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine and a contributor to the study, likens this push and pull—between positive psychosocial factors and genetic disposition to suicidal thoughts—to a battle for control of these biological pathways.

According to Na, the current suicide statistic for veterans is the highest recorded rate in U.S. history, increasing by 30 percent between 2010 and 2018. In fact, Na notes that the veteran suicide rate is nearly double that of the general population.

“That might have something to do with veterans tending to be more likely to be men where there is a higher risk of death by suicide, and women tend to report [suicide] ideation more,” Levey said.

Levey said that because men tend to be less emotionally vulnerable and open to seeking support, there is more of a reason to implement programs providing social support. Na emphasized that key programs are already being instated.

“A prime example is a Veterans Affairs tele-support program called Compassionate Contact Corps,” Na wrote in an email to the News. “Through this program, veterans who feel lonely, or socially isolated are ‘prescribed’ to talk regularly with trained volunteers via phone or video calls. The referrals are made by clinicians.”

According to Na, even daily five-minute interventions spanning two weeks in which participants are asked to write about themselves in their best possible future, known by clinicians as “The Best Possible Self Intervention,” can significantly

UNSPLASH

enhance optimism. Other examples include self-compassion training, cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness practices and meditation.

However, the study comes with limitations based on the diversity of the data set. The team used data from 1326 European-American veterans, limiting the applicability to this demographic, as noted in the study. In the future, Na and Pietrzak are interested in using more diverse data sets to understand how racial, cultural and gender differences might impact the effectiveness of certain psychosocial interventions.

Pietrzak believes such an endeavor is possible. With the relatively inexpensive cost of a single saliva or blood sample, which costs less than $100 per person, clinicians could potentially calculate the polygenic risk scores of individual veterans on a larger scale. From this data, a personalized plan could be developed. Veterans would be connected to existing programs designed to bolster emotional well-being and personal strength.

If you or loved ones are experiencing suicidal thoughts, resources available include calling the National Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-8255.

The National Center for PTSD was founded in 1989.