The Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) facilitated an all-campus forum on Friday afternoon in response to the incidents of Friday morning. A large crowd of students packed the first floor of the Usdan University Center for what became an almost two-hour long conversation about what exactly took place several hours earlier.

President-Elect of the WSA Mike Pernick ’10 opened the forum with a note of anger and resolve that seemed to resonate with students.

“I just want to say that I’m really appalled,” he said. “I’m shocked. We never want this to happen again.”

Pernick thanked the administration for its responsiveness throughout the day, including President Michael Roth, Director of Public Safety Dave Meyer and Vice President of Student Affairs Mike Whaley. Whaley was in attendance; Meyer could not attend because of a prior engagement. Roth had held a meeting with concerned students earlier in the day in the basement of South College.

“They’ve really gone out of their way to be open about this,” Pernick said.

Vice President-Elect of the WSA Saul Carlin ’09 read several e-mailed statements from students who were not able to attend the forum, then Izaak Orlansky ’08, former coordinator of the WSA, opened the floor to comments and questions from students.

Josh Ente ’08 spoke first, asking if there was a representative from Public Safety present who could explain the office’s policies regarding social events.

Orlansky said that although it was important to ask questions such as these to the administration, the forum was intended primarily to be a space for students’ voices.

Whaley did speak several times in response to comments or questions about University policies, first offering solidarity with the student body.

“I have as many questions about what happened last night as you do,” he said. “Like all of you, I’m still trying to figure it all out.”

Liat Olenick ’08 inquired as to the Middletown Police Department’s (MPD) authorization to be on campus.

Whaley responded that although he agrees that the department’s presence on campus has increased over the past several years, rumors that MPD were at one time not allowed on campus are untrue. He said that MPD presence has increased in part because the University has requested more assistance after a surge in student assaults and thefts.

The scene became emotional at times, as students offered testimonials of their experiences with pepper spray bullets, taser guns and interactions with police officers. Andrew Price ’09, one of five University students who was arrested, recounted being chased by an officer and canine, followed into a student house, and attacked by the dog.

“It was the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced,” Price said. “And I don’t understand why, with 30 of his colleagues on the street, this man needed a canine to come and bite me in the head to take me into the police station.”

Leslie Prado ’08 said that when she approached an officer after the pepper spray bullets had been shot to ask for an explanation, he responded by threatening, “Do you want to get arrested?”

“I felt very voiceless last night,” Prado said. “I want to have a voice.”

Dionne Anderson ’10 said that this was not the first instance of Public Safety Officers disrespecting students.

“I’m tired of being belittled,” Anderson said. “I will not stand for it anymore. I am not a target. I’m a human being.”

Ron Bernstein P’11 expressed his concerns both as a parent of a University student who was shot with pepper spray and as a lawyer who represents a major police department.

“This whole group is radicalized against the police,” Bernstein said. “That’s not what the police want.”

Looking towards resolutions, students agreed that much of the problem lies in poor communication and poor town-gown relations.

“The issue has always been communication,” said Jake Greenberg ’08, who suggested that the University set up different committees to gather information about yesterday’s incidents and improve dialogue with the MPD.

Maya Barros-Odin ’10 encouraged the crowd to strive for a more inclusive Middletown community.

“I think that certainly as a Wesleyan community we have strength,” Barros-Odin said. “But I think that we would have greater strength if we worked as a Middletown community, together.”

Mark Kelley ’08 suggested that students maintain a positive attitude during the next several weeks.

“It’s important for us to act like the adults we want to be treated like,” Kelley said. “Don’t be resentful. Rise above it.”

Similarly, Alex Gelman ’08 offered a positive approach to a tense situation.

“I’ve honestly never been prouder to be a Wesleyan student than I am right now,” Gelman said. “[The police] dehumanized us. We have to remember that they’re people, too. We can’t take that dehumanization and that barbarity and turn that back on them. We have to respond with love.”

In offering closing thoughts, both Pernick and Whaley encouraged students to e-mail first-hand accounts of the morning’s incidents to the administration and the WSA. Pernick encouraged continuing community and conversation, and Whaley promised that the administration would find answers to the many lingering questions.