Today on Stateside, a conversation with Josiah Walker, a University of Michigan student and pro-Palestinian activist. He said that he was followed and surveilled by undercover investigators hired by the university. Videos of interactions between Walker and an individual assumed to be a private investigator, published in The Guardian this month, led U of M to terminate its contracts with all vendors providing plainclothes security.
Stateside reached out to the University of Michigan for comment. U of M directed us to the following statements:
June 6: “Campus Security Statement”
June 8: “Keeping our campus safe and welcoming”
Also, a school resource coordinator in Kentwood joined Stateside and discussed the rise of homelessness among Michigan students, and what school staff are seeing and doing on the ground.
Update, June 12 at 10:00am:
Michelle M. Bassett, spokesperson for City Shield Security Services, provided the following statement:
“City Shield Security Services has a strong history of protecting people and property as a nationally leading provider. We are aware of recent reporting and are investigating the matter. We take all complaints seriously and investigate them rigorously, ensuring appropriate actions and professional standards. We respect the need for client and protection services confidentiality and as a standard industry practice do not discuss the details of those services or contract, which would obviously undermine the protection provided.”
[Get Stateside on your phone: subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or YouTube Music today.]
GUESTS ON TODAY’S SHOW:
- Josiah Walker, student at the University of Michigan
- Maddie Rhoades, Community School Coordinator at Kent School Services Network
