University of Virginia Library

Blacks Charge Unicops With Harassment

By Donn Kessler
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Scott Stephens

Elected To Student Council

Bob Levin

Also Elected To Student Council

Three black students lodged
complaints of racial harassment against
the University Department of Security
last week. The complaints followed
continued random identification checks
of black students by University police.

The three students, Ron Coleman,
Edward Saunders, and Emmanuel
Holmes, all first-year students, stated that
they were walking three abreast on the
sidewalk from the Law School to the
McCormick Road Dormitories when a
University security agent stopped them and
asked for their student cards.

Mr. Coleman showed his card but the other
two students refused. Mr. Coleman stated that
at least one of the two students had been
stopped before this for "no apparent reason."

According to Mr. Coleman, the two other
students then decided to get the officer's name
and badge number. They followed him up
the Law School where he gave them the
requested information.

"Blocking The Sidewalk"

The students also asked the officer why they
had been stopped and were allegedly told at
"they were blocking the sidewalk."

The students claim that this is the third time
that black students have been stopped for
identification by University police for no
apparent reason.

Following the incident, 60 to 85 black
students met with University officials in Webb
dormitory. Among the officials present were
Wade Bromwell, head of University Security,
Robert Canevari, Dean of Students, and William
Ellwood, assistant to the President of the
University for Special Programs.

According to the students, Mr. Bromwell
and some of the students left the meeting to
speak to the officer involved at the Office of
Security.

Conflicting Reports

Mr. Coleman stated that they rt with the
officer and that he told the complete story
except that he stated that the students had
forced a girl off the sidewalk by walking three
abreast.

Mr. Coleman said that he hadn't seen any
girl and that he didn't think the students had
passed any one on their side of the street.

The students then asked the officer why he
had waited until they had gone down the street
to stop them if they had forced the girl into the
street by the Law School. Mr. Coleman stated
that the officer never answered the question.

The students also quoted Mr. Bromwell as
stating that the officer had received a report of
two blacks suspected of robbery in the
dormitories and when he saw the students
walking near the Law School, he remembered
the report and stopped the students.

Esther Houston, the resident advisor for
Webb Dormitory who was present at the
meeting, quoted Mr. Bromwell as saying that
the students were too sensitive and that "even
if the security department bent over backwards
for you, you'd find something wrong."

She also claimed that Mr. Bromwell was
extremely rude to the students.

Mr. Bromwell stated that "as far as I'm
concerned, the meeting was worthwhile." He
added, however, that he was not sure if anyone
had believed him during the meeting.

He also stated that he felt that "the officer
was perfectly justified in stopping the
students."

Mr. Bromwell said that "this is an
educational problem and will be used in the
further training of the police officers."

Miss Houston stated that following the
meeting, she felt that the University officials
"who could do something about the problem,
especially Mr. Bromwell, were not going to
act."