Students demand action after alleged assault of Dartmouth student

This weekend, during the Latinx Ivy League Conference hosted at Brown, a Dartmouth student, Geovanni Cuevas, was seemingly assaulted by Brown Campus Police at a party hosted at the Machado House. 

After a previous confrontation with the Campus Police earlier in the night at the Machado House, Cuevas was turned away from the premises and told not to come back.

He returned to the house because he was being hosted by a resident.

According to Cuevas, Campus Police then proceeded to slam him against the wall and then threw him to the ground, claiming that he was “resisting.” Though fortunately the alleged scuffle only caused minor physical injuries to the student, it unsettled some students of color on campus, who said it made them feel unsafe.

The following Facebook post has been circulating peoples’ newsfeeds:

For some, this incident only builds upon the impression of racism on campus, especially with the events last week, and the school’s lack on inclusion.

Though the Latinx Conference was unable to continue after the incident, coordinators organized an open forum regarding the incident where President Paxson and the Chief of the Police for the Department of Safety, Mark Porter, were in attendance.

During the meeting, students demanded answers and plans of action to ensure the safety of students of color on campus. Delegates attending the Latinx Ivy League Conference also shared their demands of which the University should take as part of Brown’s “Diversity Action Plan,” which was previously introduced by Paxson last week.

According to a campus-wide email from President Paxson on Saturday, “The incident is under active investigation to determine the facts of what took place.” Though Paxson briefly touches upon a small handful of the student demands, the plan that the administration plans on “committing to. Right now. Tonight…” is unfulfilled, and has left demands from students of color unanswered.

Here are excerpts taken from Paxson’s email:

Students and faculty also received an email from Russell Carey, the Executive Vice President of Planning and Policy, and the senior officer responsible for the Department of Public Safety, in which he included that the officer involved in the incident would not be on patrol while the investigation takes place.

Students have spoken out against the way in which the email seems to portray the incident as “heated and physical” rather than as assault.

Excerpt from Russell Carey’s email

Administration has once again claimed “a commitment to work with all of you to effect real change.”

The recap of the meeting can be found here. (Notes taken by Junior Jieyi Cai.)