Students Petitioning To Remove National Guard From West Chester U

WEST CHESTER, PA — A group of students have taken issue with West Chester University hosting a group of deployed members of the Pennsylvania National Guard on campus housing in the midst or recent unrest, launching a petition that has garnered thousands of signatures.

The National Guard has had a significant presence in southeastern Pennsylvania ever since the coronavirus outbreak began in mid-March, bolstering nursing homes and supporting testing sites in Chester County and throughout the region. An additional 600 National Guardsmen were activated to support local police departments responding to both peaceful protests and demonstrations that turned violent following the death of George Floyd.

Controversy began when West Chester University shared a comment from the Chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, Dan Greenstein, on Instagram Wednesday.

"Public service is an honor, privilege, & an obligation to protect and advance interests of all," the comment read. "Proud of @wcuofpa which at governor's direction houses natl guard which needs our help too. Path to healing runs through empathy and dialog (sp); not demonization & hate. Let's start down to it."

The post drew a sharp reaction on Instagram from those who read the statement as insensitive to the issues of race and police brutality that have driven recent protests.

"As a member of the black community at West Chester University, I am extremely dissapointed by this," one commenter wrote. "The lack of appropriate response following the murder of George Floyd, followed by us opening our doors to a group that has been shown to instigate tension shows this school's true colors."

A Change.org petition asks the National Guard to leave campus. More than 3,000 have signed.

"The police and military forces have routinely been deployed to intimidate and terrorize Black, Indigenous, People of Color," the petition reads in part. "We cannot allow the National Guard to utilize our campus as a home base while they are employed to perpetuate further violence against the citizens of Philadelphia. We have a moral and ethical responsibility to support the Black-led movement for social justice in Philadelphia and beyond."

West Chester University President Chris Fiorentino issued a response Thursday morning which sharply reversed the statement issued by Greenstein Wednesday. While Greenstein said he was proud of West Chester hosting the National Guard, Fiorentino painted the university as helpless in the face of directives from the state, saying that the university is a state agency that cannot refuse the "mandate."

"This was not a situation in which the University had a choice," he wrote, continuing, "Make no mistake: the WCU community, including its administrators, are firmly behind the message of the peaceful protestors in Philadelphia and around the world. That message is that Black lives matter."

Gov. Wolf gave the order to activate the National Guard, after receiving requests from municipalities statewide. Protests and looting have also occurred in places like Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, and the Philadelphia suburbs have seen incidents at the King of Prussia Mall, Limerick Outlets, and elsewhere.

"The Pennsylvania National Guard is ready to provide safety and protection to our communities," Maj. Gen. Anthony Carrelli, Adjutant General of Pennsylvania, said in a statement. "Our troops are trained to protect life, preserve property and ensure people's right to peacefully demonstrate."