Jump Off Shut Down Early Amid Negotiations on New Stood Policing Policy
Updated: Sep 1
UPD disperses students at the Stood Saturday night after large crowds form at the entrance.
By Kaelin Viera and Marin Tyree
The Stood’s first party of the semester, Jump Off, was shut down nearly two hours early Saturday following long lines and chaos in the crowd outside. The event, which was scheduled to go from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., ended shortly after 11:40 p.m., leaving students disappointed and confused.
“It’s not even bedtime,” said Franky Kramer John, a junior film major, as he exited the party.
For more than an hour, students waited in a crowded line that stretched all the way back to the Humanities Building, with many people yelling and pushing for a chance to be let in. As the time approached 11:30 p.m., the scheduled door closing time, students either gave up completely, snuck to the front or struggled to push forward without losing their friends.
Around 11:40 p.m., the lights inside turned on, prompting more yelling and confusion as to whether the party was completely over.
Student Activities Director Kevin Marshall said the person that decided to end the party early was Albana Munrett, Director of Residential and Student Life, who made the call and told him to relay it to the crowd. “I was told to make the announcement. That was out of my control, that was out of my hands, and that was from our RSL director,” he said.
Albana Munrett did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.
The Harrison Police Department showed up shortly after the lights came on. By 12:20 a.m., the space had completely cleared out, and an ambulance was parked on the street, though Marshall said no one was hurt during the event.
Purchase College Chief of Police Sean Forde was also present Saturday night. In a statement made to the Beat, he said, "safety concerns started to arise when more people than anticipated arrived outside the Stood and were unable to gain access. People began pushing and shoving, resulting in people at the front of the line being crushed against the building. The crowding and pushing became too much and presented very unsafe conditions for the students, staff, and caused injury to one of the officers present. At that time representatives from Student Affairs and UPD had made the determination that the unsafe conditions presented a threat to everyone there and could not be allowed to continue."
Forde said that he and staff from Student Affairs then informed Stood staff that the event needed to end early. He said staff "understood the risk," and everyone inside exited the building peacefully.
The PSGA was recently notified of a new policy that would require clubs to pay for campus police to be at events of more than 400 people, according to a PowerPoint presentation that was sent out to every member of the PSGA. “The PSGA was notified about this recently (also suddenly) and is working with UPD to come up with a better solution. Until then, UPD’s new rules will be enforced,” the presentation said.
It is unclear how much it will cost the clubs, and how many police officers will be required. The PSGA’s budget comprises the Mandatory Student Activities Fee (MSAF) that is built into each Purchase student’s tuition cost, which is then allotted to different clubs and services.
Forde said that University Police and Student Affairs staff are meeting with Stood leadership this week to "put procedures in place to continue to manage capacities and refine our policies to focus on ensuring the safety of our entire community."
Marshall said the new policy, which requires Stood workers to closely track the number of students entering and exiting, caused the long wait at the entrance. “Naturally, that’s going to cause a line,” he said. “People should have been here earlier.”
But even punctual students had issues. Vinny Hunter, a junior film major, said he arrived at 10:35 p.m., but the doors did not open for another 25 minutes. By the time the party was over, Hunter had only spent 45 minutes inside. “No hate to the Stood workers,” he added. “A guy came up on stage and said UPD shut us down and then turned on all the lights.”
Jump-Off was jointly hosted by the Students of Caribbean Ancestry (SOCA), Latinos Unidos (LU), and the Organization for African Peoples in the Americas (OAPIA). All three clubs, along with the Stood, posted a joint statement Sunday, addressing what happened at Jump-Off. “First and foremost, we apologize for the confusion and frustration that occurred outside last night,” the statement read. “In no way shape or form is violence, pushing, or disrespect towards UPD, Stood staff, other students, or any related personnel, acceptable behavior at ANY event.”
Ayesha Dinkins, a senior visual arts major, also questioned the police presence at the event, “Are they scared of us or do they want us to be scared of them? They don’t try to create a relationship with us. They just try to enforce and control us.”
Marshall “was like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on, but they’re shutting us down. We got to go,” said Dinkins.
Despite the chaos outside, students reported that the Stood was business as usual inside. Dinkins said, “[DJ Kyrie] did his thing. I was having the best time. It was pretty cool. And then it hits 11:45, now we’re leaving. This has never happened.”
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