Black Yale student blasts dean for inaction after white woman calls police on her for napping in dorm “We don’t want to wait for a fatality”
“Do you want black students at Yale or do you not want black students at Yale?"
Yale graduate student Lolade Siyonbola, who was simply taking a nap in the common room of her residence hall when her neighbor Sarah Braasch called the police on her, has issued a statement about the ordeal.
Yale graduate student Lolade Siyonbola, who was simply taking a nap in the common room of her residence hall when her neighbor Sarah Braasch called the police on her, has issued a statement about the ordeal.
Siyonbola uploaded two videos to Facebook. One showed the neighbor filming her and telling Siyonbola that the common room is not for sleeping. The other video was of her interaction with police once they arrived.
The videos have gone viral, prompting Braasch to delete her social media accounts and Yale to issue two statements directed to students.
Siyonbola has now issued a statement of her own about the situation to Yale News.
“The response from Dean [Lynn] Cooley has been terrible. I don’t remember receiving any sort of apology or anything from her the first time, and this time the email that she sent was very vague, just not decisive, it just wasn’t direct with what the actual issues are,” said Siyonbola. “Do you want black students at Yale or do you not want black students at Yale? If you do, then be very clear about taking decisive action so incidents do not continue to happen. We don’t want to wait for a fatality, we don’t want to wait for what happened at Harvard before actual action is taken on this.”
Lynn Cooley is the Dean of Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Yale. She issued a statement to students on Tuesday.
It read in part:
“Incidents like that of last night remind us of the continued work needed to make Yale a truly inclusive place. I am committed to redoubling our efforts to build a supportive community in which all graduate students are empowered in their intellectual pursuits and professional goals within a welcoming environment. An essential part of that effort must be a commitment to mutual respect and an open dialog.”
READ MORE: Yale Dean issues response about Black grad student questioned by cops for napping in dorm
READ MORE: Yale says police ‘admonished’ the woman who called them to remove a napping Black grad student
