Photo by Jerusa Nyakundi
Jael Kerandi
Since George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis Police Department officer on May 25, more and more schools and organizations have called to sever ties with the MPD. Minneapolis Public Schools voted to terminate its contract with MPD on June 2. The Minneapolis Parks Board will vote on the matter this week. But the organization leading the charge, soon after Floyd’s death, was the University of Minnesota—led by the school's first African American student body president, Jael Kerandi.
Kerandi, a rising senior in the Carlson School of Management who is just finishing her term as president, wrote a passionate letter to university president Joan Gabel and a host of other constituents on Tuesday, May 26, calling for the university to completely terminate its relationship with MPD.
“The Minneapolis Police Department has repeatedly demonstrated with their actions that Black bodies are expendable to them,” Kerandi wrote. “This is a norm that we have been desensitized to due to its frequency. Black people have been killed by the Minneapolis Police Department at 13.2x the rate of white people. It is disgusting and it is unacceptable. A part of the Twin Cities campus is embedded within the confines of Minneapolis and students often are under the jurisdiction of the Minneapolis Police Department, a dubious status for any person of color. MPD has continually shown disregard for the welfare and rights of people of color on our campus.” She signed the letter, “With deep loss, disgust, and exhaustion, Jael Kerandi, a Black woman. The Undergraduate Student Body President.”
Kerandi gave Gabel and the university 24 hours to respond to her request. The next day, Gabel responded with a letter of her own—saying the U would stop contracting with MPD for support during large campus events or for “specialized services.” We caught up with Kerandi in the days following the landmark change to see how it all happened, and what’s next for the voice leading the charge.
Walk us through what led up to you writing the letter to Joan Gabel. What was happening?
Kerandi: After seeing all the stuff on social media Tuesday morning [the day after George Floyd’s murder], I kind of knew that I wanted to do something. And it was important that I did something. So early afternoon I put together a letter, as best as I could, and asked many people for feedback on how to write it, what needed to be done, different things like that. I spoke with the board and consulted quite a few people, and said I'm going to talk about what the best course of action is, and they unanimously approved it.
What happened after you sent the letter?
As the letter states, there was 24 hours given to respond and get insight from the president about what action is going to be taken. And then we saw early evening, late afternoon on Wednesday, a response from the president naming adjustments that she was going to make in regards to relations between the U of M and MPD.
What were you feeling when you did get that response from her?
There was a mixture of different emotions, but I did trust President Gabel. I also understand higher education moves a bit slower, so decisions like this are not easily made. And I know there's a lot of other people who have had to be engaged, which is why I honestly didn't see the entire severing of ties. But I was very pleased with the time that we were given and what ended up happening.
What did you want to show by writing the letter, and how do you want your legacy as student body president to be affected for it?
I wanted to make sure that students knew that I put their safety first, and given how many students have often felt unsafe in the presence of police, I wanted those students to know that they were heard and that their concerns were valid. And that was that was important to me. Being a black woman and being somebody who shares some of the stories of what my peers have experienced, that was very important to me.
So obviously, things don't just end here. What comes next?
We’re hopefully waiting to hear from President Gabel about more decisions to be made. But I also have students speaking about more engagement and conversation in regards to our own police department on campus.
What do you anticipate kind of coming for student government in the next semester the next year?
Actually, my term ends in a month. I trust that the incoming and presidential administration would allow this work to continue forward. I have not announced my new position in student government, but I will still be present and working with them.
You’re really going out with a bang.
It's funny, because our student government is a little different. Our term is with the fiscal year, so we go July 1 to June 30. I think a lot of people assume I'm starting my term, and it's actually ending.
What are you planning for your senior year?
In terms of school, I mean, it's finishing coursework. I'm a double major (finance and marketing), double minor (business and leadership). So it's still heavy course load until I'm done. I’m hoping to just continue to fight for students. And I don't think that ever leaves my heart, I think it's my God-given purpose to help others and be an advocate on behalf of others. I just hope to continue that in the coming year.
What is the role, then, that you can hold in student government?
It's funny, people keep asking if I can just pick something. No, I did go through the application process and confirmation process and different things like that. I will actually be going back to my previous role working for the Board of Regents as a student representative, which I think is going to be a very crucial role as we go into a lot of big decisions—not only on policing, but on the pandemic and how that affects higher ed institutions. The decisions that have to be made are going to affect students in the coming decades.
So not a slack-off senior year at all, then?
No, I don't think I’d be interested in doing that.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
