Yale Daily News

On Monday night between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m., a window was shattered at the Afro-American Cultural Center.

A small group of students were sitting in the Founder’s Room inside The House when the incident occurred on Nov. 13. Af-Am House Director Timeica Bethel ’11 notified House staff in an email on Nov. 15 and called it a “possible hate crime.” The News interviewed two students who said they witnessed the event. 

Alanah Armstead ’24 said that some of the group of students in the room were working on problem sets, while others were taking a call before they heard the window shatter.  

“We heard a loud bang; it was like seven people in the room, and we tried to see if something had like fallen over or got knocked down, and we didn’t see anything,” Armstead told the News. 

Armstead said that a couple of minutes later, she saw two men, one in a green hoodie and the other in a white hoodie, behind The House. 

The men, according to Armstead, were walking down the alleyway toward Park Street shortly after the shattering of the window.

“Everyone knows that The House is a space for Black students and staff, and Black students and staff are always here,” Audrey Leak ’24 said. “So any kind of damage to The House could be [to] possibly hurt Black students or staff.”

Leak and Armstead said the group of students present during the incident became nervous about their safety and decided to go home shortly after. 

The News obtained an email sent to the Af-Am House staff on Nov. 15 at 10:41 a.m. issued by Bethel, with the subject line “potential hate crime.” It outlined the events that occurred on Nov. 13, the possibility that it was a hate crime and measures put in place to keep students safe at The House. 

“Given the positionality of The House as a space that celebrates Black culture, it is possible that this was a hate crime,” Bethel wrote in the email. “Nothing about The House or our programming of late has been particularly controversial, so it’s unclear why this incident happened. In the name of full transparency, it is possible that this is the result of a resident group recently posting on social media that The House will be holding a fundraiser for Palestine at the tailgate this weekend.”

Bethel wrote that the fundraiser was not authorized by The House and that she contacted the leaders of the group to remove the flyer.

Bethel declined to comment further on the incident when reached by the News Wednesday afternoon, as she said she is not allowed to comment on ongoing police investigations. 

The News reached out to the Yale Police Department the night of Tuesday, Nov. 14, regarding the incident. 

“YPD was contacted by the leadership at the house, and officers responded to initiate a report regarding a vandalism complaint,” YPD Chief Anthony Campbell wrote to the News. 

Campbell later told the News in the afternoon of Wednesday, Nov. 15 that the YPD was continuing to work on the investigation into the incident.

“I’ve reviewed the report within the last hour, and we’re actively reaching out to witnesses provided by the original complainant,” Campbell wrote. “Gathering their information will significantly impact the direction of our investigation.”

He encouraged anyone with information regarding the incident to contact the Yale Police Department at 203-432-4400, adding that individuals can opt to remain unnamed in a report or utilize the LiveSafe app to report any information anonymously. 

The Afro-American Cultural Center was established in 1969.