EPD, ResLife Partner for “Coffee with a Cop”

A new program pairs students and Emory police officers together for a cup of coffee and donuts.

Residence Life and Housing (ResLife) and Emory Police Department (EPD) have partnered for Coffee with a Cop, a national community outreach program based on police and community members joining in an informal, neutral space to discuss community issues, build relationships and enjoy coffee, according to Coffee with a Cop’s website.

College senior Erdong Chen, director of the EPD Cadet Program and a Resident Advisor (RA) at Clairmont Campus, wrote in an email to the Wheel that he used his dual positions within EPD and ResLife to coordinate the program.

According to Chen, Coffee with a Cop began in fall 2014, and the initial events took place in community spaces such as the Dobbs University Center (DUC). Chen wrote that EPD wants to increase its exposure by offering the program through residence halls.

This marks the first time EPD is partnering with ResLife for the Coffee with a Cop program, according to EPD Captain Cheryl Elliot.

Elliot wrote in an email to the Wheel that EPD decided to partner with ResLife to increase the opportunities for interaction between campus police and the undergraduate community.

“There are so few opportunities for the community to get to know us, and for us to share who we are,” she added, noting that communities such as the freshman Living-Learning Communities work to achieve a similar goal, linking academic and residential life using different residence hall themes. “It is important for us to come to the residence hall and continue the Living and Learning experience.”

Elliot also wrote that the program would be a continuation of EPD’s community-oriented approach to policing, and that she hopes the program will “[allow] the people we serve to understand our commitment to a safe place for our community.”

During Coffee with a Cop, members of EPD will provide coffee and donuts and engage in conversations with the campus community over any issues they would like to discuss, according to College senior Sasha Palmer, a senior RA helping facilitate the program’s implementation.

According to Palmer, she is working on an event that will take place in Few and Evans Hall on March 16 at 6 p.m. by coming up with potential questions and overseeing outreach to our community.

Palmer added that residents she has spoken with are excited for the program.

“I believe this program will bring our community closer together in both the understanding of what our officers do on a daily basis to keep us safe and in creating a relationship between students and officers,” Palmer wrote in an email to the Wheel.

College freshman Orli Hendler said that she thought the program would be positive, especially as Hendler said she doesn’t often see EPD around campus except the occasional car driving down Eagle Row.

“I like interacting with people who have had interesting or different experiences than me,” she said.

As for marketing the program, Elliot wrote that there will be Coffee with a Cop set-ups everywhere — at academic buildings, in residence halls and outdoors.

Every officer has received training in the program’s purpose and how to conduct the program, according to Elliot.

“I want to emphasize this is a Police Department program. This includes Fire Safety, EEMS [Emory Emergency Medical Service], our Administrative assistants, Police Cadets, Communications Dispatchers, Community Service Officers, Detectives, supervisors and officers,” Elliot wrote. “Our staff are excited about sharing who we are and building a broader view of who we are and how committed we are to the safety of the community we serve.”

— By Annie McGrew, Asst. News Editor

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