A white student who reported a black student for napping in their dorm common room because she didn’t believe she lived there, has a history of placing similar calls on black students.
The woman identified as Sarah Braash, was reprimanded by the university an administrator said on Thursday.
Yale University police officers interviewed Braash and sleeping student Lolade Siyonbola and then told Braash that Siyonbola had every right to be there.
Siyonbola posted two videos of the encounter Monday night on social media showing police interviewing her for more than 15 minutes.
It has now emerged that Braash had called police months earlier on another black student, Jean-Louis Reneson, who had got lost in a stairwell of the building.
Lolade Siyonbola, left, had the police called on her by a white student, Sarah Braash, right, a Philosophy PhD student, after she found her napping in a common area of their shared dorm
Siyonbola says that Braash, pictured, has made similar calls to authorities when she has invited black friends over to her dorm in the past
In March, Siyonbola and another black student, Jean-Louis Reneson, pictured, submitted a complaint about a separate incident also involving Braasch
On that occasion, Siyonbola invited several colleagues, including Reneson, to the same residence hall on in February for a meeting in the common room according to the Yale Daily News.
Reneson, who got lost inside the building, was physically blocked by Braasch from entering the common room and accused him of being an intruder, according to the complaint.
Commenting on Facebook about the experience Reneson wrote: ‘I believe that as a Yalie, I’m blessed to have such an institution support my academic and professional ambitions. However, I cannot overlook the blatant racist experiences I have had while at Yale.’
Yale Vice President for Student Life Kimberly Goff-Crews said in a statement: ‘This incident and others recently reported to me underscore that we have work to do to make Yale not only excellent but also inclusive.’
Siyonbola said she saw the statement from Goff-Crews as ‘a move in the right direction.’
Ms Siyonbola told police the woman (pictured) believes the common area is part of her own apartment, and that she had called police before on Ms Siyonbola’s friend, who had become lost in the building
She said requests for action by the university are currently being drafted by black graduate students.
Goff-Crews said administrators and the Yale police chief are planning listening sessions with students in the months ahead to address the episode.
She said she also plans to work with administrators and students to review suggestions on how to improve the university’s response to incidents of discrimination and harassment.
Lynn Cooley, the Dean of Yale’s graduate school of arts and sciences, sent an email to graduate students Tuesday telling them that Ms Siyonbola had every right to be in the building and inviting them to share their concerns about the incident.
‘Incidents like that of last night remind us of the continued work needed to make Yale a truly inclusive place,’ she wrote.
‘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.’
Ms Siyonbola said she has received an outpouring of support from the black Yale community
Siyonbola told police she had fallen asleep while writing a paper at the Ivy League school. She began to film herself as she spoke to Braash who reported her for napping on a couch in the Hall of Graduate Studies.
‘She came in and turned the lights on. I was sleeping on the couch and she said you’re not supposed to be here, why are you sleeping here?’ Siyonbola told police.
She later told police Braash believed the common area, in Yale’s Hall of Graduate Studies at the New Haven campus, was part of her apartment.
The African Studies student began to film again when police came, and they were seen speaking with her for more than 15 minutes before finally confirming she was a student at the university and leaving.
Siyonbola’s livestream of her interactions with Braasch and the officers went viral in the wake of the incident, with many responding in shock and disappointment.
The police officers insisted that their attempts to verify her student status was ‘protocol.’
Police told her the encounter was prolonged because her name was not spelled correctly in a database of student information.
Multiple officers arrived at the scene to verify Ms Siyonbola’s identity after they were called to Yale’s Hall of Graduate Studies at the New Haven campus
Reneson, who got lost inside the building, was physically blocked by Braasch from entering the common room and accused him of being an intruder, according to the complaint
Siyonbola, who showed police she had a key to her room and later provided them with her ID, accused the officers of harassing her.
‘I deserve to be here,’ she said in the video.
‘I paid tuition like everybody else. I am not going to justify my existence here. It’s not even a conversation.’
Siyonbola repeatedly told police that Braasch that suffered from mental illness and that she was known to call the police and complain.
‘I think you probably need to commit her to an institution,’ she said. ‘That’s the only use you have to be here.’
Siyonbola expressed gratitude Tuesday on her Facebook page for ‘the love, kind words and prayers’ she has received.
‘Black Yale community is beyond incredible and is taking good care of me,’ she wrote.
‘I know this incident is a drop in the bucket of trauma Black folk have endured since Day One America, and you all have stories.’
Yale has faced a number of scandals over racism and has tried to take steps to prevent it.
In February 2017, they announced they would change the name of a residential college that honors a 19th century alumnus and former U.S. vice president who was an ardent supporter of slavery, John C Calhoun.
Last year, the school also removed a ‘problematic’ carving of a puritan holding a gun at a Native American.
They spoke with the African studies student for 15 minutes, explaining the encounter was prolonged because her name was not spelled correctly in a database of student information
Ms Siyonbola showed her student ID and unlocked her dorm room in front of officers, but they were unable to verify she lived in the building
Lynn Cooley, the Dean of Yale’s graduate school of arts and sciences, said the university needed more work to become a ‘truly inclusive place’