University police officers are armed and capable of arresting people far from their schools, but they don’t necessarily answer to municipal governments. Naa Ashitey spent her teenage years one block away from the University of Chicago, where she’s now a senior. One of her earliest memories from when her family moved into the neighborhood about 10 years ago is seeing cops from the University of Chicago police department roam the streets.

On Friday, Diverse hosted an online discussion titled “Calling Out Xenophobia, Racism and Intolerance During the COVID-19 Crisis,” moderated by editor-at-large Dr. Jamal Watson. As campus resources and classes moved online, so did harmful biases, panelists noted, calling for fresh approaches from colleges and universities. “This is a moment to strengthen our solidarity in and across racial groups,” said Dr. Charles H.F. Davis III, assistant professor of clinical education at the University of Southern California. “This is an opportunity to forge together even stronger as a community to fight the rising tide of White supremacy on campus.”