I am an Oakland resident in district 4, and a Mills College alum. I am appalled at Northeastern's power grab attempt in our city. I studied and lived at Mills and throughout Oakland for my 4 years of undergrad and for over a decade since. When I was at Mills, we had a small but mighty private security force that helped keep students safe. I was editor of our student paper and did a feature on that security team, and all the work they did to protect students. We did not need Police on our campus then and they do not now. This is an attempt by Northeastern and private law enforcement consulting company Wayne Enterprises Inc., to control East Oakland. The data shows that police do not keep people safe. If Northeastern University really cared about the city of Oakland and its residents it would do something to help address the $90 million budget deficit that Oakland is now facing. I want Northeastern to immediately abandon this plan and commit those funds to real solutions that address the root causes of violence and instability in East Oakland.