Reporting the facts

For the past week, the front page of The Daily Free Press has been dominated by continuing coverage of the Boston University Police Department's lack of cooperation in providing details about a collision in which a BUPD officer struck a student with his car on Commonwealth Avenue.

If this incident had involved an officer from a city or state police department, a report would have been filed the night of the incident and would have been available to the public the next day. That means any citizen -- including a reporter -- has the right to walk into the police station, ask for that report and receive that report, no questions asked. In fact, the Free Press obtained the incident report

from the Boston Police Department.

The BUPD unfortunately has not been as cooperative in our efforts to uncover all the details from the incident. The BUPD is a special police force that generates its powers from the state, but unfortunately is still protected by the same strict privacy guidelines that BU enjoys.

It is under this special distinction that the BUPD has claimed it does not have to release any report involving the Tuesday night collision. This is an issue student journalists and campus police have clashed over repeatedly. The Harvard Crimson last year lost a lawsuit

to gain access to the university police department's records, three years after losing the same battle

in a different court.

The Free Press is not looking to use "gotcha" journalism to land some juicy stories about the BUPD, which is a professionally run organization charged with the responsibility of guarding a university with the population of a mid-size town. Even if the police officer had not made an illegal turn, or if the collision had been the student's fault, transparency is absolutely necessary in the force protecting this university.

The BUPD is paid -- by students' tuition -- to protect the students of this school. When the department is unresponsive to an incident like this one, it leaves an unsettling feeling with students.

We will continue updating the incident throughout the week as more information becomes available.

Meanwhile, in Brookline, the Student Union is trying to ease residents and students by bringing them together

to reconcile tensions. While the success of the Union may not yet be visible, its efforts represent the first major stand the advocacy group has taken in more than a year.

Representatives from the Union have also been more visible than previously to the press, showing a sense of pride we have not seen in a long time from the student government. While the Union's meetings may still be drawn-out confirmations and committee reports, its leaders have shown initiative off the clock.

The Brookline Police Department has met with top representatives

from the Union, and both parties seem to be working toward a common goal -- peaceful coexistence in a neighborhood heavily populated by BU students.

As students on and off campus grapple with police forces of varying sizes and authorities, awareness of these organizations is seeing new heights. The Free Press will continue to report the issues from all sides -- the students, the police and the victims.

Thanks for reading.

Matt Negrin Editor-in-Chief

Jason Millman Managing Editor