Yale student who called police on black student napping in common room has history of calling cops

Yale University police officers were called to campus Monday after a white graduate student called to complain about a black grad student who had fallen asleep in the common area of their residence.  

Sarah Braasch contacted police after finding the snoozing schoolmate, Lolade Siyonbola, asleep on a in the common room at Yale's Hall of Graduate Studies on the New Haven campus.

“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.

Siyonbola uploaded two Facebook live videos showing her interactions with four police officers who were attempting to verify her student status, which according to them was “protocol.”

Siyonbola offered to open her room door as proof of her residency but hesitated to present officers with her student ID.

“I’m going to think about whether I want to show that to you or not because I really don’t know if there’s a justification for you even actually being in the building.” She eventually provided them with her ID.

She spent over 15 minutes with police, who said that the process was prolonged because her name as it appeared on her ID did not match the spelling of her name in the database of student information.

The University told ABC News in a statement that students are allowed to have their preferred named on their ID cards, which can differ from the name listed on official records.

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 told police about a different occasion several months ago where that same student called police on a friend who became lost in the building and ended up in the stairwell.

The Yale Daily News further reported that in February police were called by Braasch, who had “physically blocked” another student from entering the common room after she claimed he did not appear to be a Yale student.

The student had been invited by Siyonbola to participate in a meeting held in the common room.

As with Monday's incident, four police officers responded to the call and left shortly after confirming that he was in fact a Yale student.

The officers who responded to Monday’s call interviewed Braasch as well and informed her that Siyonbola had every right to be in the common room, Yale Vice President for Student Life Kimberly Goff-Crews said on Thursday.

Lynn Cooley, the dean of Yale's graduate school of arts and sciences, sent an email to graduate students Tuesday telling them that Siyonbola had every right to be in the building.

"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."