Another day in modern America, another person of color who was questioned by the police for doing absolutely nothing.
Recently, Lolade Siyonbola, a grad student in Yale’s African Studies program, fell asleep in the common area of her campus dormitory (as you often do when you’re a college student). She received a rude awakening when a white Ph.D. candidate living in the dormitory called the cops to alert them to the presence of an “unauthorized person.”
Siyonbola was then forced to answer roughly 15 minutes worth of questions from campus law enforcement officers in order to prove that she was indeed a student (even after she used her key to open the door to her dorm room).
Siyonbola filmed the incident on her phone and made sure to capture footage of the woman who had called the cops in the first place.
On Facebook, Siyonbola identified the woman as Sarah Braasch, a Ph.D. student in Yale’s Philosophy department. This is apparently not the first time that Braasch has called the police on other students.
“I deserve to be here,”Siyonbola says in the video. “I paid tuition like everybody else. I am not going to justify my existence here. It’s not even a conversation.”
Siyonbola is not in any sort of trouble, but the experience has obviously been frustrating. The student posted on Facebook that the “Black Yale community is beyond incredible and is taking good care of me,” and that “I know this incident is a drop in the bucket of trauma Black folk have endured since Day 1 America, and you all have stories.”
Lynn Cooley, the dean of Yale’s graduate school of arts and sciences, sent out an email to graduate students about the incident, offering an apology and inviting a conversation.
‘The dean of Yale’s graduate school of arts and sciences: “Incidents like that of last night remind us of the continued work needed to make Yale a truly inclusive place,” https://t.co/eNXHbydsR8
— Jan Nolf (@NolfJan) May 10, 2018
Twitter was extremely supportive of how Siyonbola handled the incident.
I’m not going to justify my existence here. ~ Lolade Siyonbola
— Vachel Vachel (@_Vachel7O9R) May 10, 2018
When Lolade Siyonbola told the cops she belongs here, my ancestors built this place. pic.twitter.com/NlhyJvdS4j
— Makeda Nzingha Hill (@makedanzingha) May 10, 2018
The incident also prompted people to share more serious threads about the racism that is often inherent to elite academic institutions …
First: white people, can you please stop calling the police on black and non-black people of color while we are doing the same things you all do on a daily basis? Napping, moving our stuff, going on a school visit, sitting in Starbucks. We’re tired.
— Janan (@jananamirah) May 10, 2018
Second, “it’s procedure”? Well, maybe you all should reconsider that procedure. Especially after a student unlocks the door to their room.
Third, what is that response from Yale? It’s not a surprise, but it is a problem.
— Janan (@jananamirah) May 10, 2018
“This incident and others recently reported to me underscore that we have work to do to make Yale not only excellent but also inclusive,” Ms. Goff-Crews said.
Ms. Goff-Crews is the VP of Student Life. #IBelongHere
— Janan (@jananamirah) May 10, 2018
Harvard had a similar response after the police punched a black student while arresting him.
These schools say they want “diversity” but make minimal efforts to make the school a space for black and non-black PoC students. #IBelongHere
— Janan (@jananamirah) May 10, 2018
It’s New England Liberal racism. It’s the kind that sets unofficial “quotas,” talks about black people and people of color in abstract ways, teaches 50 shades of white American and European history, and has the nerve to ask if you belong there. #IBelongHere
— Janan (@jananamirah) May 10, 2018
I don’t discourage black students from coming to Harvard. But I would warn them that this place can feel like a desert sometimes. And if you made it here, you didn’t take someone’s place. Despite what some people may say. #IBelongHere
— Janan (@jananamirah) May 10, 2018
… as well as conversations about white private citizens “policing” public spaces.
Okay, white women. Apparently this needs to be said. You call the police when someone’s life is in danger or the potential for someone’s life being in danger or property being destroyed is strong. That you are uncomfortable or nervous is not a good reason to call the police.
— Laura Seay (@texasinafrica) May 10, 2018
It is NOT your job to police public spaces & call the cops when there is no destructive behavior going on, but you think someone is doing something wrong. Loud music, cooking out in a park, someone napling in a dorm – these are not destructive behaviors.
— Laura Seay (@texasinafrica) May 10, 2018
If you call the police on people of color for petty reasons, you put their lives in danger. It’s that simple. And that deadly.
— Laura Seay (@texasinafrica) May 10, 2018
Examples of when it *is* appropriate to call the police:
-When you see a car accident happen
-during an active shooting
-a child is left alone in a parked car on a hot day
-you witness a robbery or kidnapping
-live electrical wires fell due to a storm
-someone is being assaulted— Laura Seay (@texasinafrica) May 10, 2018
All of these ^ involve situations of *active* harm or destructive behavior that requires an immediate response. People just living their lives – even in ways you don’t like! – is not a good reason to call the police.
— Laura Seay (@texasinafrica) May 10, 2018
text
I remember taking a nap on a couch in my college once and waking up to a cop shaking me. I remember being somewhat confused, fumbling in my pockets for my wallet to get my student ID.
Thinking back on it, I sometimes wonder how many people have died for less in my lifetime.
— Pessimist by Nature, Content by Choice (@PessByNature) May 10, 2018
So, yeah. It’s officially time for busy-bodies to lay off the flippant calls to the cops about black people. It’s not only racist and straight-up rude — but, as we’ve seen, it also frequently puts people of color in a life-or-death situation.