Officer Felicia J. Glick: JMU Campus Police.

I was initially apprehensive about what kind of personal information I could get a person to disclose to a stranger. From the moment I was buzzed though metal detectors of the Crime Prevention office, I was a skeptic. The first of my interviews to finally make it through the emailing stage, and I doubted the potential. Luckily, the answer to my prayers was Officer Glick; the soft-spoken mother of two, locally grown and self-made.

Officer Glick and I started with basic questions such as her early life, job description, as well as path to becoming an officer. Through the dialogue however our conversation quickly became something else entirely. What was originally supposed to be a 15 minute conversation ended up as an hour and a half discourse spanning from education programs to the benefits of being both a parent and an officer. The boundary between superficial topics and meaningful discussion was crossed seamlessly. Our interview was exactly what I had hoped for and then some.

The most surprising aspect of our discussion was when Officer Glick described her views on the currently widespread anti-police sentiment. She conveyed that while there are "some bad apples," the JMU Police officers are the embodiment of everything the law should stand for. She finds that while many students see officers as the enemy so-to-speak, there goal is truly provide a safe and functional environment for learning. The more she explained, it became clear to me that the moral guidelines touted during orientation of Freshman year directly overlapped with Officer Glick's description of her personal morals. She frequently would revert back to her golden rule of treating every student as if they were her child, as if she were their mother. Her maternal instincts, as she describes, truly have aided in establishing a better connection to the student body. One of the powerful messages she passed onto me was how regardless of the situation, no true officer enters into a situation with the intent to harm others. The modern climate for officers is hostile and variable. Officer Glick detailed how the context of a call is assumed to be dangerous for there are never guarantees. While many instances are often a matter of simple conflict-resolution, there must always be caution. Under/over reacting can be the difference between living and dying. I had never considered the extent officers are willing to risk in-order to ensure my safety.

Officer Glick and her partner Officer Craig Martin, co-lead the Outreach and Education program, tasked with providing Greek organizations with tools to lead safe lives. She frequently involves students and community members in round-table discussions in order to promote greater community involvement and overall understanding. Her favorite part of the JMU community is the fact that even though I81 cuts the area in-half, civic engagement is especially important to the dukes. Officer Glick closed our discussion with an encouragement to spawn a conversation with a fellow duke by simply saying "hello."