Quiet Riot

"Dean Canevari says 'The city was just there as a backup.'" So read the front page of the Cavalier Daily last Tuesday. Apparently there was trouble in greekland this weekend. And not the sort of trouble we usually hear about, either. For once, the university community hears news about a black sorority, and despite the heavily service-oriented nature of said sorority, what we hear is bad news. For those of you who missed the story, the university police called in the Charlottesville police -- you know, for backup -- at a Delta Sigma Theta party, when three non-students attempted to enter illegally. A fight broke out, and the cops did their thing, sort of. Actually the party dissolved on its own, without any arrests made. Some mace or pepper spray got in there somehow.

What's so bad about that, one might ask? Well, first of all, it was "not a full-blown riot," in the words of university Police Chief Sheffield. Why the need for city backup, then? Charlottesville police are not usually called in for support. "I don't remember the last time they called us in," said Charlottesville Police Sergeant Pleasants, as reported in the CD. The temptation to draw parallels to last year's Minor Hall incident is strong. The same applies to the debate surrounding the removal and subsequent reinstatement of the BBS. Why is it that anything involving large congregations of black students invites controversy? Within my memory, large gatherings of white students have never encountered anything vaguely resembling this kind of treatment. This discrepancy points to some kind of inequality in the way gatherings of blacks and whites are perceived.

Not to make wild accusations, not to harp on the university police ... but something is wrong here. I, for one, have seen a few nasty brawls in more-or-less-all-white gatherings. And have yet to see a Charlottesville cop show up, as backup or at all. For that matter, I'm not sure I've seen a university cop at the aforementioned gatherings. What gives? Draw your own conclusions.

The very fact that this type of incident is appearing on the front page of the paper is troubling, to say the least. This is the 90s, folks. Simply put, this should not be happening. Whether any actual wrongdoing or hyperbole occurred that night is not for me to say; I wasn't there. But one must avoid even the appearance of impropriety, which this university community sure ain't doing. I'm disappointed in us.

-- JLP