Group irked at police response

By Koren Temple

Students who attended a dance party hosted by Igwebuike, the black student union, accuse authorities of using unfair practices when breaking up the event.

The party, held on May 1 in the Brass Rail, began at 9:30 p.m. and ended two hours later when Santa Clara police responded to a call of two non-students fighting.

"When they asked African-American students and other people of color to return to the dorms, when about six feet in front of us were a group of white students, I felt discriminated against," said sophomore Tyshun Wardlaw, who attended the party. "If you are trying to evacuate the whole facility, then you need to tell everybody to leave."

But authorities defend their responses as appropriate.

Officer Stewart Cusinano said it's not unreasonable to ask people to return to their dorms. He said that the department was just trying to disperse the crowd, and wanted everyone to return safely to their cars or dormitories.

Freshman Elece Trujillo feels as if the department responded with extra force for other reasons.

"I felt as though they were only here because they weren't used to seeing so many minorities on campus all at once, or that they were assuming minorities are up to no good so they have to regulate more," she said.

The department defended its procedures, citing that in a large crowd more officers were needed to ensure everyone's safety.

Police said campus safety called them before the party started and as a safety precaution.

One of the officers who was at the party spotted the fight, and then called in for the department to intervene.

Members from Igwebuike claimed that excessive police involvement was not necessary since four private security guards and campus safety officers were present during the fundraising event.

None of the attendees were injured, and the dispute was broken up immediately by other students, according to Trujillo.

"I don't see why a whole department had to come down just to stop a little girl fight," said the 19-year-old dance and psychology major.

"I felt as though the police expected something bad to happen, and that's why they all were there."

After the dispute broke out, students in charge of the event decided to end the party, so they encouraged people to exit the premises, said junior Jennifer Bradford, who helped put on the event.

According to Trujillo, 26 police officers were present. Witnesses say police encouraged students who were roaming the main area of Benson to leave because they were shutting down the building.

"They made a big deal out of nothing, and it caused a whole scene," she said. "I thought something was really wrong when I saw all the cop cars, and that's when I got really scared," added Trujillo, who also noticed police dogs barking near the scene.

Police say that when a party breaks out in a crowd of a few hundred, as many officers as on duty usually respond to make sure everyone is safe.

Wardlaw thinks differently.

"I can understand why they (police) would want to make sure everything goes right on campus, but it was uncalled for," said the 20-year-old marketing major who was upset over the incident.

"It just perpetuates the stereotype of 'it's an African-American party, there are going to be some problems, so let's all go."

Cusinano said that because communication is difficult in the downstairs basement of Benson, more officers were needed to ensure the safety of everyone.

Police say it took an hour for everyone to safely exit.

Igwebuike President Asha Wilkerson said the response of the police was unnecessary, and it made the organization look bad.

"It's a double standard when the whole department shows up for a fight between two girls, when every Friday, Saturday and Wednesday night other Santa Clara students are walking around drinking, which is illegal," she said.

"And we did nothing illegal. It surprises me, but it doesn't surprise me."

û Contact Koren Temple at (408) 554-4852 or ktemple@scu.edu.