Two opposing groups of Columbia community members gathered Monday, Oct. 6, outside of the Daniel Boone City Building. One group advocated for increased police presence and voiced their desire for increased enforcement of panhandling laws, while the other advocated against increased enforcement of panhandling laws. Demonstrators with the first group, including University of Missouri professor Chris Prestigiacomo, criticized current laws as creating an unsafe environment in Columbia. “Columbia is not the same place, it needs to become safer,” Prestigiacomo said. “As a professor at the university I want my students to be safe.” Luke Jensen is a community member who showed up in opposition to those advocating for a panhandling ordinance. “Banning panhandling and further criminalizing the idea of being unhoused is not going to help anybody,” Jensen said. “We need to come out here and show support for the unhoused community and talk about how we can address the issues that unfortunatel...