6 ms·

Many universities are either municipalities in their own right, or have delegated municipal powers from the city government. Universities are their own small t

Many universities are either municipalities in their own right, or have delegated municipal powers from the city government. Universities are their own small towns - they provide food, housing, have police forces, a large staff, etc. Put it the other way around, does it make more sense for a city official to be calling the shots, when campuses have their own special context?

dvtrn 7y ago
Aren’t tenant/landlord laws typically set by the state, though-Using your analogy or do I have it backwards? Aside from local zoning laws I don’t quite see the comparison to how a municipality would be able to “call the shots” on something like eviction rules.
- gowld 7y ago
  States delegate power to municipalities. They can override municipal law if they choose to
  - dvtrn 7y ago
    Are you referring to Home Rule? I’ve heard of it, had no idea housing laws could be delegated this way; it seems rather problematic for a state to let local municipalities set their own varying and disparate housing laws, that sounds like an administrative nightmare for both entities.
JMTQp8lwXL 7y ago
Universities also have their own judicial systems under Title IX as well.
chrisseaton 7y ago
> have police forces Literally their own police forces? How does that work? Where do they get the authority to be police from? Who are they sworn to?
- paulmd 7y ago
  Usually they are deputized by the local city or county.
- spacedome 7y ago
  In Massachusetts they are state police (at UMass at least)
- CydeWeys 7y ago
  They get the authority from the state. My alma mater University of Maryland had its own police force. They were sworn gun-carrying officers of the law same as the county cops and state troopers.
  - chrisseaton 7y ago
    Are they university employees? And they're carrying guns?! What do you need a gun for at a university?
    - Anon1096 7y ago
      They're police officers. It's pretty standard to carry.
    - CydeWeys 7y ago
      The same reason any other cop would need guns. Hell, we had a high profile death of an armed MIT police officer not that long ago (Boston bombings). Universities can and do face external threats, so even if the students themselves aren't packing heat (which is itself sometimes the case), there's non-student criminals who cause the same kinds of problems they would anywhere else. I remember there being lots of break-ins, robberies, even some rapes on-campus. UMD is in Prince Georges County, which has some pretty sketchy high-crime areas in it, and students are vulnerable victims. The university cops are mostly there to protect the students (from off-campus trouble-makers, and also from each other; especially re: alcohol problems).
      - 7y ago

dvtrn 7y ago

Aren’t tenant/landlord laws typically set by the state, though-Using your analogy or do I have it backwards? Aside from local zoning laws I don’t quite see the comparison to how a municipality would be able to “call the shots” on something like eviction rules.

gowld 7y ago
States delegate power to municipalities. They can override municipal law if they choose to
- dvtrn 7y ago
  Are you referring to Home Rule? I’ve heard of it, had no idea housing laws could be delegated this way; it seems rather problematic for a state to let local municipalities set their own varying and disparate housing laws, that sounds like an administrative nightmare for both entities.

JMTQp8lwXL 7y ago

Universities also have their own judicial systems under Title IX as well.

chrisseaton 7y ago

> have police forces Literally their own police forces? How does that work? Where do they get the authority to be police from? Who are they sworn to?

paulmd 7y ago
Usually they are deputized by the local city or county.
spacedome 7y ago
In Massachusetts they are state police (at UMass at least)
CydeWeys 7y ago
They get the authority from the state. My alma mater University of Maryland had its own police force. They were sworn gun-carrying officers of the law same as the county cops and state troopers.
- chrisseaton 7y ago
  Are they university employees? And they're carrying guns?! What do you need a gun for at a university?
  - Anon1096 7y ago
    They're police officers. It's pretty standard to carry.
  - CydeWeys 7y ago
    The same reason any other cop would need guns. Hell, we had a high profile death of an armed MIT police officer not that long ago (Boston bombings). Universities can and do face external threats, so even if the students themselves aren't packing heat (which is itself sometimes the case), there's non-student criminals who cause the same kinds of problems they would anywhere else. I remember there being lots of break-ins, robberies, even some rapes on-campus. UMD is in Prince Georges County, which has some pretty sketchy high-crime areas in it, and students are vulnerable victims. The university cops are mostly there to protect the students (from off-campus trouble-makers, and also from each other; especially re: alcohol problems).
    - 7y ago