A GRADUATE
STUDENT AT YALE UNIVERSITY WAS HARASSED BY POLICE OFFICIALS, IN
FACT, AS MANY AS FOUR COPS AFTER A WHITE STUDENT SAW HER SLEEPING
IN THE COMMON AREA OF A DORM BUILDING, AND THOUGHT THAT THIS
PERSON WAS SOME SORT OF THREAT AND CALLED THE COPS.
THE
GRADUATE STUDENT HERE IS SHE IS AN INCREDIBLY ACCOMPLISHED
WOMAN, SHE IS A GRADUATE STUDENT AT GAIL.
SHE TOOK A NAP IN THE
COMMON AREA AND THEN THIS WHITE STUDENT COMES IN AND SAYS
SHE IS NOT AUTHORIZED TO BE THERE, CALLS THE COPS AND
UNFORTUNATELY THE SITUATION ESCALATES FROM THERE.
SHE HAD TO DEAL WITH THE COPS FOR AS LONG AS 15 MINUTES AND WE
HAD A FEW EXAMPLES OF THE VIDEO THAT SHE POSTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE FIRST ONE.
I HAVE ABSOLUTE RIGHT TO DOCUMENT.
YOU CANNOT TAKE MY PICTURE.
I AM NOT TAKING YOUR PICTURE, THIS IS FACEBOOK LIVE.
I NEED TO GO BACK AND FINISH WRITING MY PAPER.
YOU HAVE YOUR ID ON YOU?
YEAH, I DO.
CAN WE SEE IT?
WHY?
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU BELONG HERE.
LET ME OPEN MY APARTMENT FOR YOU SO YOU CAN SEE THAT I BELONG
HERE.
I DON'T THINK THERE IS A NEED FOR YOU TO BE HERE.
I
THINK YOU PROBABLY NEED TO COMMIT HER TO AN INSTITUTION.
VERIFY THAT YOU ARE RESIDENT HERE AND WE WILL BE ON OUR WAY.
GREAT.
I NEED TO GET BACK TO THE 12TH FLOOR, I HAVE TO DO MY PAPER.
CAN WE JUST HAVE YOUR ID?
WHY?
I JUST --
I PROVED THAT I LIVED HERE AND HE SAID HE WOULD LEAVE.
CORRECT.
I JUST OPENED THE DOOR TO MY APARTMENT.
THAT IS FINE, I CAN SEE THAT.
THANK YOU FOR WATCHING THAT.
I NEED YOUR ID?
WHY?
SO WE CAN VERIFY WHO YOU ARE.
THAT IS FRUSTRATING.
THE RIGHT WING SAYS BOOTSTRAPS.
SHE IS
A GRADUATE STUDENT AT YALE SO SHE DID EVERYTHING SHE COULD DO.
SHE DID BOOTSTRAPS, WHATEVER SHE HAD TO DO.
SHE IS AT YALE AND YOU KNOW WHY SHE WAS SLEEPING THERE?
SHE WAS WORKING ALL NIGHT ON THE PAPER SHE HAD TO WRITE AS A
GRADUATE STUDENT AND IT IS HER DORM.
THIS ALL OCCURRED AROUND 1:30 IN THE MORNING.
FIRST OF ALL, I
DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT GOES THROUGH THE MIND OF SOMEONE, A
STUDENT WHO WALKS INTO THE COMMON AREA OF A DORM AND SEES
SOMEONE SLEEPING IN THAT COMMON AREA ARE TAKING A NAP.
WHY DID ACROSS HER MIND THAT THIS WOMAN POSED ANY TYPE
OF THREAT?
THERE WERE OTHER BLACK STUDENTS AT YALE WHO SPOKE TO THE
PRESS THAT THEY ALSO HAD SIMILAR RUN-INS WITH THE
STUDENTS, WHICH BY THE WAY, YOU COULD HEAR HER MENTION IN THE
VIDEO THAT WE JUST SHOWED YOU.
WHO IS SHE?
SHE HAS OF BACHELORS DEGREE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND
SHE WAS A GEORGE BROOKS SCHOLAR.
SHE
LATER WENT TO NEW YORK WHERE SHE WORKED IN THE TECH INDUSTRY.
SHE IS NOW GETTING A GRADUATE DEGREE AT YALE IN
AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES.
HER RESUME IS SUPER IMPRESSIVE, AND
GIVING YOU A TINY PIECE OF IT SO YOU ARE RIGHT, SHE HAS DONE
EVERYTHING RIGHT.
SHE IS AT YALE AND IT DOES NOT MATTER.
SHE GETS HARASSED BY A STUDENT FOR TAKING A NAP IN THE
COMMON AREA OF THE STORM.
THIS IS A NEW ONE, SLEEPING WHILE BLACK.
AGAIN, WHITE PRIVILEGE.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
IT DOESN'T MEAN EVERY WHITE PERSON IN THE COUNTRY HAS A
MANSION OR A YACHT.
IT DOES MEAN THAT I GET TO
TAKE A NAP IN A DORM ROOM AND PEOPLE DON'T CALL THE COPS
ON YOU.
YOU NEVER NOTICE IT, YOU NEVER GOT THE COPS CALLED ON YOU.
THAT IS WHY YOU ARE LIKE I DON'T GET IT, WHITE PRIVILEGE?
I DON'T HAVE ANY PRIVILEGE.
WHAT YOU DON'T NOTICE IS WHAT
HAPPENS TO OTHER PEOPLE.
THEY DO EVERYTHING RIGHT AND THEY GET
THE COPS CALLED ON THEM ANYWAY.
THIS PARTICULAR STUDENT AND
OTHERS PROBABLY WILL DISAGREE WITH ME.
ONCE THE COPS ARE
CALLED, THE COPS ARE, I THINK, IN THAT SITUATION IN A TOUGH
SPOT.
THEY WENT ON TOO LONG.
THEY ASKED HER TO OPEN THE DOOR
AND SHE DID NOT ANSWER THE ID.
I THINK ASKING FOR THE IDEAS
OKAY AND SHE GIVES IT TO THEM.
THERE IS A SLIGHT MISSPELLING IN
HER NAME IN THE RECORDS.
THAT IS WHEN YOU HAVE TO LET IT GO.
IS OBVIOUSLY HER AND SHE HAS A UNIQUE NAME.
THE FACT THAT IT IS SLIGHTLY MISSPELLED, WHAT YOU THINK?
SOMEONE ELSE BROKE INTO THE DORM ROOM, SOMEHOW GOT
HER ID, BUT MALICIOUSLY MISSPELLED HER NAME.
THIS IS CRAZY.
STUDENT IDS HAVE PHOTOS ON IT SO IF THERE WAS A MISSPELLING
OF THE NAME, YOU ARE RIGHT, LET IT GO BUT IT SHOULD NOT
EVEN GET TO THAT POINT.
THEY CHECKED HER ID UP AGAINST THE UNIVERSITY'S RECORD.
THINK ABOUT THE INVESTIGATIVE WORK THAT WENT INTO THAT.
REALLY?
IS THAT A GOOD USE OF A POLICE OFFICER'S TIME?
BUT MAINLY, I GET THAT IN THE BEGINNING THE COPS ARE IN A
LITTLE BIT OF A TOUGH SPOT BECAUSE SOMEBODY CALLED THEM AND
THEY HAVE TO RESPOND, BUT THAT PERSON WHO CALLED THE COPS, SHE
HAS THE AUDACITY TO SAY DON'T TAKE A PICTURE OF ME.
YOU CALLED THE COPS ON ME AND I AM A FELLOW STUDENT.
I AM THE ONE WHO IS WRONG FOR VIDEOTAPING IT?
YOU ARE THE VICTIM NOW?
YOU ARE IN A PUBLIC PLACE BY THE WAY, SHE COULD HAVE
EASILY TAKEN HER PICTURE OR PUT IN THE VIDEO.
SHE DIDN'T, THAT SHOW SOME SIGNIFICANT RESTRAINT.
BY THE WAY, WE HAVE A SECOND PORTION OF THE VIDEO THAT I
WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL.
LET'S TAKE A LOOK.
I WAS SLEEPING IN THE COMMON ROOM AND SHE COMES IN AND TURNS
THE LIGHTS ON.
AND SHE IS LIKE WHY ARE YOU SLEEPING HERE,
YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO.
I'M GOING TO CALL THE POLICE ON YOU.
SHE CALLED THE POLICE ON MY FRIEND ABOUT THREE MONTHS AGO.
THE UNIVERSITY KNOWS THAT SHE IS UNSTABLE AND SHE IS STILL HERE.
YOU HAVE DEALT WITH HER BEFORE?
THIS IS MY FIRST TIME MEETING HER IN PRISON BUT I KNOW
THAT SHE IS THE ONE WHO CALLED THE POLICE ON MY FRIEND.
WHAT DID SHE CALL THE POLICE ON YOUR FRIEND FOR?
HE WAS IN THE STAIRWELL AND HE WAS BLACK.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME?
SHE DID THE SAME THING BECAUSE MY FRIEND WAS IN THE STAIRWELL.
AND HE WAS BLACK.
THAT DOESN'T SOUND RIGHT.
IT DOESN'T SOUND RIGHT THAT I'M SITTING HERE WITH YOU
WHEN I SHOULD BE WRITING MY PAPER EITHER.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY I'M STILL HERE.
HER FRIEND DID SPEAK TO THE PRESS AND HE SAID THAT HE HAD
ASKED THAT WOMAN FOR DIRECTIONS SOMEWHERE IN THE UNIVERSITY AND
--
BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT ROBBERS DO, THEY ASK FOR DIRECTIONS.
I'M SURE IF YOU ASKED THAT WOMAN IF SHE WAS RACIST SHE
WOULD BE LIKE, NO.
OF COURSE NOT.
I DO NOT ACTIVELY THINK
THAT ALL BLACK PEOPLE ARE CRIMINALS, I JUST HAPPEN TO
THINK THAT MOST OF THE PEOPLE I RUN INTO AT YALE WHO ARE BLACK
OR CRIMINALS.
WHY ELSE WOULD THEY BE DOING A PAPER AT YALE IN THE MIDDLE
OF THE NIGHT?
WHY ELSE WOULD THEY BE ASKING FOR DIRECTIONS FOR HOW TO GO
TO WHEREVER THEY WERE GOING TO GO, DORM, MAYBE A CLASS A YALE?
IT NEVER OCCURRED TO YOU THAT MAYBE THEY WERE ASKING FOR
DIRECTIONS BECAUSE THEY ARE A STUDENT THERE?
I THINK THAT THE PERSON WHO CALLED THE COPS IS WAY WORSE
THAN THE COPS AND LASTLY, WHY DON'T I ASK FOR HER ID?
APPARENTLY ANYBODY CAN CALL THE COPS ON ANYBODY AND THEN THEY
HAVE TO SPEND 45 MINUTES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT JUSTIFYING
WHO THEY ARE.
HOW DO I KNOW YOU ARE A GILL STUDENT.
MAYBE YOU
ARE THE CRIMINAL.
YOU ARE DISTRACTING THE COPS AND RUBBING
MY PLACE SO I WANT YOUR ID AND SEE WHO YOU ARE.
YES, I WILL
TAKE A PICTURE AND A VIDEO OF YOU.
YOU GET TO QUESTION MY
IDENTITY, AND YOU ARE THE VICTIM?
HELL NO.
EVERYBODY EARNED THEIR WAY THERE ALTHOUGH I DON'T KNOW
ABOUT THE WOMAN WHO CALLED THE COPS, SHE MIGHT BE A LEGACY.
THOSE PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY, THEY DID NOT EARN IT, THEIR DADDY OR
MOMMY WENT TO YALE AND THEY GOT IN AND THEN THEY QUESTION
OTHER PEOPLE WHO GOT AND SO I DON'T KNOW BUT A HUGE
PERCENTAGE OF THE CLASSES THAT THESE TOP SCHOOLS ARE
LEGACIES.
JUST KEEP IT REAL ON THAT.
AGAIN, I JUST WANT TO REALLY EMPHASIZE THAT IT COSTS AS MUCH
AS $63,000 A YEAR TO GO TO YALE AND TO GET THAT KIND OF
TREATMENT IS PRETTY HORRENDOUS AND ALSO KEEP IN MIND THAT YALE
HAS DECIDED TO SUPPORT THE ACTIONS OF THE COPS.
THEY SAID
THAT THE COPS WENT THROUGH THE PROPER PROCEDURES SO THEY ARE
DEFENDING THE COPS IN THIS CASE BUT ONE OF THE DEANS DID SPEAK
OUT AND SAY THAT YOU KNOW WHAT, WE DO NEED TO DO BETTER IN BEING
MORE INCLUSIVE OF MINORITIES AT THIS UNIVERSITY.