Napping Yale Student Police Call Controversy
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Overview
Napping Yale Student Police Call Controversy refers to the police interrogation of an African American student of Yale University, who was reported to authorities while napping in a dormitory common area by a white student. Online, many compared the situation to other incidents of white people calling the police on African Americans without justification, such as the Starbucks Philadelphia Arrest Controversy.
Background
On May 7th, 2018, Yale Police officers interrogated Lolade Siyonbola, a black graduate at Yale University, who had been reported by a white student for napping in a common room. She was questioned for more than 15 minutes.[1]
Developments
Siyonboala's Facebook Videos
That night, Siyonboala shared a video of her confrontation with the woman who called the police on Facebook. [2] The video (shown below, left) received more than 2,300 reactions, 1,100 shares and 586,000 views in three days.
Shortly after the police arrived, Syionboala posted another video to Facebook. The second video (shown below, right) received more than 11,000 reactions, 10,000 shares and 965,000 views in three days.
Online Reaction
People reacted negatively to the story online and praised Syionboala for her handling of the situation. On May 9th, Twitter [3] user @makedanzingha tweeted a gif of actor Taraji P. Henson clapping and the caption, "When Lolade Siyonbola told the cops she belongs here, my ancestors built this place." The post (shown below) received more than 1,500 retweets and 6,900 likes in 24 hours.
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
Others posted their reactions over the story using the hashtag "#YaleWhileBlack." Twitter[4] user @Sam_Smilez tweeted, "Some of ya'll have got to stop calling the police for dumb things, we are dying over this shit #YaleWhileBlack (shown below, left). Twitter user @BLINGED_OUTT tweeted, "The fact that white people look at this scenario & think the cops did the right thing by checking this woman’s papers is the actual entire problem." The post (shown below, center) received more than 500 retweets and 1,700 likes in 24 hours.
Twitter user @texasinafrica tweeted, "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." The post (shown below, right) received more than 2,500 retweets and 6,000 likes in 24 hours.
On May 10th, Twitter[5] published a Moments page about the reactions to the controversy.
Media Coverage
Several media outlets covered the story, including CNN,[6] The Independent,[7] Essence,[8] The New York Times[9] and more.
External References
[1] Yale Daily News – Black student reported to YPD for napping in dormitory common room
[2] Facebook – loladeskentele's Post
[3] Twitter – @makedanzingha's Tweet
[4] Twitter – @BLINGED_OUTT's Tweet
[5] Twitter – A white woman called the campus police on a black student napping in a Yale dorm common room
[6] CNN – A black Yale graduate student was reported to police for napping in her dorm – CNN
[7] The Independent – Black Yale student fell asleep in common area and white student called police
[8] Essence -White Yale Student Called Cops On Black Student Sleeping Common Room
[9] New York Times – A Black Yale Student Was Napping in a Dorm, and a White Student Called the Police
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