By Dexter Gauntlett
Daily Bruin Staff
In anticipation of Midnight Yell ““ the UCLA tradition
where students let off steam each night of finals week by yelling
for about 10 minutes outside their apartments starting at 12 a.m.
““ university police and administrators will increase patrol
on campus and in Westwood throughout next week.
Administrators and police alike hope to avoid repeating the
circumstances that led to a mini-riot in fall 1999, when students
ignited flares and set fire to mattresses and couches in the
street.
That quarter, the Los Angeles Police Department arrested 19
students on Glenrock Avenue for arson, failure to disperse or both.
There were also reported disturbances on campus after midnight,
said Nancy Greenstein, director of Community Service.
But since 1999, there has been a decrease in the number of
people causing trouble in incidents related to Midnight Yell,
Greenstein said, adding that many problems between students and
citizens have been resolved.
“The fires have been eliminated, both physically and
metaphorically, because students and neighbors have been very
cooperative for the most part,” Greenstein said.
Bob Naples, assistant vice chancellor of student and campus
life, posted flyers in nearby student apartments last week to
remind people to be respectful.
“We want students to know that (Midnight Yell) is not a
free license to just go crazy and to let them know their landlords
are sensitive to the problems. We don’t want them to
jeopardize their housing or academic status by getting
arrested,” he said.
Naples has been in contact with landlords and asked them to
refer “involved students” to the Dean of Students.
“We’ve seen 30 students on a balcony that can hold
10, which means the landlord could have a potential liability
problem, and students could get hurt,” Naples said.
Individuals caught throwing or launching projectiles into the
street or at other individuals will be arrested and cited, the
flyer said.
“We try to not cite people and to warn instead, but
yelling would be disturbing the peace,” Greenstein said.
Resident Assistants have also posted flyers throughout residence
halls, warning students that violation of quiet hours will result
in community service.
But students will yell despite the postings, said first-year
business economics student Justin Frank.
“The flyers actually encourage people to do it because
it’s risky and what you can’t do, you want to do
more,” he said.
Frank considered the on-campus rules arbitrary, saying such
rules take away from the college experience. Instead of having
administrators enforce behavior, Frank said he’d rather see a
more relaxed, common courtesy-type environment.
Even with increased administrative and police presence, some
students see the policies as ineffective.
Third-year sociology student Sam Crick said Midnight Yell is not
as big a production as it used to be and is now used to rebel
against university enforcement.
“They cracked down so hard that it’s not even an act
of stress removal, it’s more for students to make a point to
be defiant,” he said.