Negotiations of Department of Public Safety officers’ wages that had been set to take place Friday morning between the university and DPS union Allied International have been postponed until an unannounced time this week, according to university spokesperson Julie Bataille.

The scheduled meeting for negotiations did not take place Friday because DPS representatives’ flights coming out of New York City were delayed.

About 12 students rallied in support of DPS at 9:30 a.m. on Friday outside of Gervase Hall, where the negotiations were to take place.

The students carried signs displaying phrases such as “Equity in Pay” and “G-town Respect DPS,” and chanted slogans and cheered to advocate higher wages for DPS officers.

Protesters informed passersby of their cause and attempted to draw people into their protest. Students also hung a large cloth sign proclaiming, “Support Safety, Support DPS.”

“We just want to let them know we have our eyes on the administration. We care deeply about this issue. We are watching this,” protester Ja-Rei Wang (NHS ’11) said.

Several DPS officers who passed by Gervase Hall showed their support for the small rally with smiles and thumbs up.

The students said they intend to resume their protest at the next scheduled meeting, and to release a press release in the near future.

This is the second campaign for improved DPS working conditions in four academic years, according to Ian Villeda (SFS ’11), one of the leaders of the protest.

“We’re just here to let the university know we are still standing in solidarity with DPS and will never stop standing in solidarity with DPS,” Donald Burke (MSB ’10) said.

Despite positive support from students, not all bystanders agreed with the protesters’ proposed solution. Ryan Harpster (MSB ’13) said that an increase in hourly wages for DPS officers would provide neither a solution nor a safer campus.

“Because DPS officers are paid by the hour on the clock, the officer just sitting around in his car on patrol gets paid the same as the officer actually making a difference in security on campus by taking action against crimes such as these hate crimes,” Harpster said. “The answer, therefore, is some type of merit-based pay to provide incentive for the officers, not a simple increase in their hourly wages.”

Officer Terrence Mack, the elected representative for DPS and member of Allied, expressed his gratitude for the support of the student protesters.

“We appreciate you coming out and supporting us. We couldn’t do it without student support,” he said. “Hopefully we will be able to come to a solution that works for both sides.”