Around 1:30 a.m. of Tuesday, a black graduate student, Lolade Siyonbola, was caught asleep in the common area of her dorm at Yale University by a fellow student. The white student, who is not identified, told her that she had no right to be here and promptly called the police. Ms Siyonbola, posted a 17 minute recording of her encounter with the police who responded to the call, which garnered 600,000 views by Wednesday. After Ms. Siyonbola proved she had a dorm there by unlocking her room with it, the officers were unsatisfied and asked to see her ID to confirm it with the university records frustrating Siyonbola.
In my opinion, the behavior of the white student as well as the police was uncalled for. Even if the white student was suspicious to find someone she did not recognize in the dorms, it did not seem like she even considered the possibility of the stranger being another student. I think that prejudice was the main reason she was so quick to call the police. As for the police, I think that they should have left after Siyonbola proved that she had the key to her dorm room, I mean did they think that she had stolen a key and somehow knew which dorm the key belonged to?
Was the white student right to be suspicious?
Do you think that the police were just doing their job carefully or were they overstepping their bounds?
Do you think that racial tensions are particularly high right now, if so, why might this be?
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30 comments:
Oh, this is great. When I read this article, I was immediately struck by one line: "The white student, who is not identified, told [the black student] that she had no right to be here and promptly called the police."
That is racism. If that black person wasn't a student there, they would have been escorted off of campus hours before that by campus security. They wouldn't have been able to get into the common area in the first place, because most on-campus commons require a student ID to even get in. Telling a black person who is clearly a student at the college that she has no business in an ivy league school is objectively racist. I don't think that's too much of a logical leap for me to make.
If this tells me anything at all, it's that liberal wealthy coastal elites can be racist as well, and bigotry isn't restricted to poor people in the midwest and south. In fact, southern states have higher percentages of black people than in northern states. If the majority of Southern whites were really that racist and bigoted as the left would have us believe, african-americans would leave southern states like South Carolina and Alabama in droves. This episode is another example of liberal hypocrisy at it's finest. Liberals accept minorities on a broad social scale, but when it comes to personal interactions, all the politically correct formalities conveniently disappear.
According to AP news, the woman who called the police suffers from a mental illness. Additionally, this same woman "had called police several months ago on a friend who had gotten lost in a stairwell of the building." Consequently, the woman calling the police on Siyonbola might not be a racially charged incident, but rather just a case of paranoia or something of the like.
Regardless of race, this should have been a matter of minding one's own business. Does it really affect you if someone is napping in a common room? Perhaps she was a hall monitor in high school and wanted to relive the good ol' days.
I believe there are a lot of red flags that are apparent in this issue that do suggest racism and likely extends past this one case, but I believe an answer like Granger's (especially the second half) may be a bit too quick to judge. Racism occurs because of the quickness to jump to a stereotype, and the stereotyping of liberals and wealthy coastal elites at the second half of that answer seems a bit hypocritical as well. I think Josh's answer is interesting, but there is no way that it would be "just a case of paranoia," although it could be paranoia mixed with a societal issue with race as a whole. I do think that racism may be overplayed in some news articles, but race seems like the big issue here, so it does not really make sense to try to think about this regardless of race.
I understand that this student may have called the police for safety reasons, but I think that this was uncalled for. I mean if she really was worried, she should've asked the dorm monitor or the ra or someone who works at the school to check if she was a student at the school or not. Although, if what Josh stated above is true, I guess that makes more sense as to why she would've called the police for something so trivial.
The comments above bring up good possibilities as to why the student may have called, however I am disappointed but not surprised that the cops didn't believe that the student stayed at the dorm even after showing her card. I think that the racism is mostly on the police mainly. I think that it is fair to call security (not police) if you do not feel safe in the environment that you're in but like Josh said, the girl was sleeping and she wasn't causing any harm to the person so it was unnecessary to call the police in my opinion.
I do agree with Granger in that white liberals get this idea that they're "woke" and don't have prejudice because of their leftist beliefs, but that is not always true. Though, relocating to states like California from South Carolina is a drastic change in life as well as price (lots of people couldn't afford to move to somewhere like New York or California into an area that would actually better their quality of life). However, I don't think that party affiliation has much to do with this particular story. I doubt that this altercation would've happened if the student was white, and in fact these kinds of events are quite common for black students.
I think that the actions taken against this innocent woman were extremely uncalled for. Josh's comment regarding the woman being mentally ill justifies the call slightly, however, it is still not right as the woman was doing nothing wrong. First of all, the woman was sleeping and was not bothering anyone. Secondly, she had the right to be in the dorm. I can understand that the woman might call for safety reasons, but the lady was not causing any harm. Also, I think that the police should have let the woman off after she first proved her ability to be there; the fact that they keep asking for evidence is unjust.
I don't think the white student handled this situation correctly. She shouldn't have called the police for a student sleeping, even if she did not know the student she could have woken them up and asked. But at the end of the day, the african american student was not harming anyone. I think the police also weren't being nice, because the student already proved she went there. If the racial roles were switched, the cops wouldn't have put so much pressure into the student showing further proof of being a student.
Had the sleeping student been white, I feel as if the other student wouldn’t have called the cops. No matter what the race of the student was, however, I still find it incredibly unreasonable to call the cops. The person was just sleeping, and, as others have suggested, not causing any harm to anyone nor disrupting anyone. I also think that the police were overstepping their bounds. The way the situation was described, it seemed as if they were taking unnecessary, improper actions even after being presented evidence that she was, in fact, a student. Again, I find it hard to believe that they would have acted in this manner if she was white.
I think the police and the white student's reaction were completely uncalled for. Instead of calling the police, the student could have just woke up the girl and tried to assess if she was a student or not. I get it can be scary to see someone you've never seen before just sleeping in your dorm, but it is very unusual for someone to break into a college dorm, first, because who would want to do that, and second, because colleges have good security. Like everyone else has stated above, if this girl was white, she never would have received this much prejudice. The police were clearly not just doing a good job, but being racist and prejudice.
I don't think this situation was handled correctly at all. If the white student had reasons to be suspicious, they could have just asked her if she was a part of the university. The police was also being really rude. I think if this situation happened to anyone it would be wrong and rude. The fact that it happened because the student is black makes the situation even worse. I don't understand how in the 21st century we can still see a difference between colored, and white people. The whole situation could have been avoided if they simply communicated. In today's world, communication seems to be nonexistent and that is a huge issue. So many problems could be solved by communicating, I don't understand why we're having so many issues with it. The police did its job right by asking for the ID because anyone could steal a room key and they probably just wanted to be safe, but instead of making the issue last forever they could have just asked for the ID right away. It saddens me to see the racism and stereotype we still put on people today even when we claim that this country has grown out of racism.
I think that this situation was blown out of proportion. The student was just sleeping there, and had proved she was a student there, so it makes no sense to be suspicious of that. I think that this situation could have been handled in better way rather than calling the police. I think that racism has definitely gotten worse and people need to stop making assumptions about others based on their race.
Was the white student right to be suspicious?
-I believe that the white students had the right to be suspiciouse,but not necissary for the actions they took to their worries.the students can be worried about anyone in the commons, but some people have their own beliefs and morals,and some see it necissary to call the police.
Do you think that the police were just doing their job carefully or were they overstepping their bounds?
-i do not think the police were stepping out of bounds. A police officers first question must be to ask for identification. When a police officer pulls you over, he doesnt ask for your car keys as proof of it being your car. The police were doing their job and that the student cant prove theyre are a resident just because of a key to a dorm, anyone can have a key.
Do you think that racial tensions are particularly high right now, if so, why might this be?
-I believe racial tensions are high given our era. We live in an era where all young adults believe in entitlement and where all police are seen as people who are racist,but are truly only doing their job.
I think that it is important to take into account the demographic disparities that exist at Yale when discussing this issue. The surrounding town of New Haven has a 35% black population, while less than 5% of the students at Yale are black. Despite being an extremely wealthy university, Yale has not made an active effort to reach out to their surrounding community. From what I have heard from a student who toured there, nearly every area on campus requires a pass, and the university is fenced off from the surrounding area. I believe that the student had no right to be suspicious given that there are many security measures on campus that prevent outsiders from entering unauthorized areas and calling the police was an extreme overreaction. This instance proves that Yale needs to more actively address racial relations at their school, as it is inappropriate that a student would be so shocked by the presence of a black student that they would feel the need to call the police.
I agree with many others above who have stated that this issue is a matter of racial bias, and it doesn't make sense why the white student found the need to call the police as an immediate response, especially when taking account the security measures of the dorm hall. The fact that such an impulsive desire to call the police is so widespread is something that needs to be addressed. A recommended link in the article lead me to read another story about two Native American brothers on tour at CSU whom a parent called the cops on for their "suspicious behavior" that turned out to be just their shyness. They weren't even allowed to finish their tour. CSU's president Dr. Frank actually endued up reaching out to the brothers to reimburse them. I hope that Yale's faculty does more to compensate for the humiliation endured by their own students, and that their promises of addressing inclusiveness actually turn into something substantial.
How would the person have been able to get into the dorm if they weren't a student there? I can understand the worry that comes with seeing someone where you think they shouldn't be, but calling the police seems to be a bit of a stretch. She should have went to the administration or called someone from the school to question the black woman, if she was that worried. She had a right to be suspicious, even if it was racially biased, but she could have taken any other actions that weren't as drastic. The police, unsurprisingly, handled it in an irritating fashion; yes I can understand that someone could steal the dorm keys, but why would they fall asleep inside the dorm? It was obvious that she was a student, but they decided to unnecessarily double check and make her further prove that she was one. With Trump in office I'd say that racial tensions are extremely high, so high that a suspicious African American undergrad sleeping in her dorm now requires a police call to make sure that they are actually a student.
It's sad that moments like these continue to happen, our nation continues to grow and yet we still face these huge societal issues. Many issues surrounding race seem to get blown out of proportion and although the student had the right to be suspicious, they should not have taken action how they did. The police shouldn't be called if there is no true danger, and involving the police only made the situation worse. This issue could have been resolved with simple communication.
It is sad to say it, but things like this happen all the time. On contrary to basically everyone here, I do not think that it was the police's fault though. If someone called the police, it is their job to check everything. Like they probably thought that the person calling had a good reason to call them. It was mostly the fault of the white student that just assumed things based off the race of the individual. Racial tension have not really changed too much within the past few years. To me this has happened and will happen because people just inherently have a bias against other races. This is nothing out of the ordinary.
I think as young adults in a new environment like college it isn't ridiculous to feel scared of someone you don't recognize in the same place where you live. I think that calling the police may have been an overreaction. It seems like a waste of resources to have the police, who have many roles to play in peace keeping, come just to see to this girl. I think calling the campus security would have been a more appropriate reaction. There probably was prejudice when becoming so afraid of this sleeping girl, and this issue is one that must keep being talked about so that it can get better. The fact that the police kept bothering the student after she proved her residence there is certainly problematic. Overall, I think that because this incident occurred without anything horrible happening or anyone getting hurt it doesn't need to be blown up; but certainly prejudice in America is something that can be worked on to lessen it.
I believe the fault of this incident lies with the white student alone. While there may have been some prejudice involved, the incident is mostly caused by the white student's ignorance and overreaction. When seeing a stranger napping in the common area of a campus dorm, it is more likely that they are a student than an unauthorized person. The police were simply doing their job when they were called by a student to investigate a "suspicious person". If Josh's comment is true, then the incident was more of a person problem than a prejudice problem.
Yes, people can be suspicious, but there is a certain extent to how much people can be suspicious. Siyonbola was only napping in the common dorm area and she wasn’t doing anything that was harming anyone, making the white student calling the police unjustified. I think calling the police was a rash decision and she should have definitely done something else like ask her. Especially right now, there is obviously a high amount of racial tensions because of stereotyping. Stereotyping is a major cause of a lot of instances of racism because people are very quick to judge. Judging people can lead to actions or sayings that not only affect one person but affect the whole race. I believe that people need to control what they say and do and eradicate their bias against races.
It’s undeniable that race was a major factor in this incident. If race was removed from this issue, it would be like calling the police for every stranger you encountered, and clearly that is not the case. The one thing that stood out to me was that 3 police showed up to investigate, and in some serious issues police are difficult to contact or get a hold of, and this, once again, paints a clear picture of how polarized and prejudiced our justice system continues to function. Asking for her ID was appropriate, but as Marlene said only students would be allowed to access the hall. Furthermore, the black student wasn’t a threat to her peers and was merely sleeping, not disturbing or causing harm. Stereotyping and racial bias seems to be occurring quite often recently, and it disheartens me to see that the justice system, corporations, and our legislators aren’t as active in promoting equality. Another reason is that many potential perpetrators upon noticing the minimal repercussions and punishments for being racist in such cases, persuades them to act out to because they would not be held accountable.
Equality is made by hard work, hard work pays off with time ,and with time their needs to be patience. I won't deny that race plays a huge factor in this case as the articles shows that what the student did was unjust to another to call the police on them because she was sleeping out in public. As I've read from the comments above Yale is a very protective school with security locks in every room and building. If anything that student should've just talked with the other student instead of calling the police, The problem would've been solved in an instant. Lack of communication is honest a pretty big problem, a lot of issues like this could've been solved just by talking and working things out.
I believe that race was definitely a factor in this situation. I don't think the white woman should have called the police. How was the black student doing anything dangerous in any way that would affect the safety of anyone in the vicinity. Because of this alone, I think it was uncalled for. I also think that the police acted inappropriately considering that she had a key to the dorm and everything. It seemed as if the police were trying their hardest to find something wrong about her. The only way I could understand that this was not completely about race was if Josh's comment was true about how the white student had mental illnesses, which would make a little more sense and be more of a problem of the individual rather than one about race.
I think that it was wrong for the white student to call the police. Personally, I don't see an issue with someone sleeping in the dorm hall, and I especially think that after it was proven that the African American student was indeed attending the school, the police should have dropped the case. I think it is situations like these that perpetuate racial issues in our nation and I hope that Yale will start addressing racial issues like these that continually seem to be happening on their campus.
I think the white student was simply being too paranoid. I think that calling the police was an overreaction, as the student was posing no danger to the campus. I do not think that the police were overstepping their bounds, because they were called to do their jobs and this was part of the job, to carefully verify that the student actually lived there. However, by calling this a racial issue might be blowing this case out of proportions.
The white student was way over his or her head. I mean the student was taking a nap on campus which doesn't sound like a threat or anything so there shouldn't be a problem with it. Calling the police was over the top, because in no way was the white student in danger. The cops did what they needed to do. They had an assignment and they did exactly what their jobs were. Anyone could have a key to a dorm. ID is necessary to confirm that they were in fact students. However, I don't think that this sort of thing should have escalated the way it did. Leave the guy alone jeez. All he did was sleep.
I understand that she may have been suspicious, but I believe she overreacted. She didn't need to call the police over a racial bias. She should've asked a dorm monitor or someone who worked at the school before getting the police involved. There are clearly still issues with races, for the white student was scared because the of the African American student's race. Once she proved she was a student, I agree with Annie that the police should've dropped the case because she wasn't doing anything wrong/ causing any danger. She was merely taking a nap. The police was doing their job, but didn't need to future investigate. If the student hadn't been African American, then I think that the student would've reacted differently.
I think that the Yale student overreacted. The student was merely sleeping and did not pose any threat. Calling the police was unnecessary and just proves her racial bias. The police also acted quite inappropriate. After proving she lived on campus she was further questioned by the police. I think when she opened her dorm room they should have dropped the case right away.I bet if it was a white student, this event would have never happened.
If what Josh said about the Yale student was true, and that they suffered from paranoia and other mental disorders, then this would not be a case of racism.
But I do think that the officers acted unjustly. The officers should've believed Ms. Siyonbola without needing to confirm with the university. I mean, she had a key and she knew which dorm it goes to. If she really wasn't supposed to be there, would she be napping? Did they think she just did a lot of research and key duping or something?I understand if the officers wanted to be super careful, but really..?
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