Freshman hit at BlackBox event, fight ensues

Correction appended

The Wilson College BlackBox was the scene of a different sort of "boxing" on Friday night, after a freshman woman rejected an invitation to dance from a non-University-affiliated male. After she refused, a fight broke out that led to her being taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

The incident occurred between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. and involved two students and a number of people not affiliated with the University, according to a statement released on Saturday by BlackBox, Inc., president Dexter Doyle '09 and vice president Lalithra Fernando '10.

Stephanie Feldstein '08, a former EMT who gave first aid to the freshman woman prior to the ambulance's arrival, said that the student was punched in the face after refusing to dance with a non-Princeton student, who was one in a group who had been inappropriately "harassing girls on the dance floor" throughout the evening.

"They had already made their presence known, definitely," by the time the brawl broke out, Feldstein said.

The freshman woman, whose name is being withheld to protect her privacy, did not respond to requests for comment.

After the initial punch was thrown, an altercation ensued in which several students were injured. The students were removed from the BlackBox to await Public Safety's arrival and receive attention from EMTs.

Public Safety, Wilson College Master Marguerite Browning and Wilson Director of Student Life Michael Olin did not respond to requests to comment.

The BlackBox statement said that employees of the Safeguard Student Agency successfully contained the fight.

"As a result of the presence of the Safeguards that accompanied the actions of the BlackBox staff, the incident in question remained an isolated occurrence as we achieved an efficient resolution to the problem. The majority of the students present were not even aware of a disturbance," the statement said.Safeguards manager Tom Methvin '09 said the incident occurred because there were "not enough overall guards present," adding that he does not believe it was Safeguards' fault. He explained that Safeguards responded as soon as they were notified.

Feldstein, however, said she noted a lack of assistance on the part of security at the BlackBox event. It was Feldstein and another student, she said, who moved the injured girl and administered first aid. She added, though, that once BlackBox staff has assessed the situation, they did assist.

Kathryn O'Neill '08, who also attended the event, noted that "there wasn't any professional security."

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Though BlackBox events usually have bouncers who check identification at the entrance, the presence of prospective freshmen complicated the situation because there was no way to distinguish prospective freshmen from others who may wish to get inside. People unaffiliated with the University, like the individuals who started the fight, therefore had the ability to gain admission and potentially cause a disturbance, Doyle and Fernando said in the statement.

"The University should come up with a way for pre-frosh to carry identification," he added.

Feldstein agreed this incident is unfortunate because prospective students may leave with "stories that are not very representative of the University."

In light of this incident, BlackBox, Inc., plans to improve security at future events, according to the statement. A discussion on the implications of the incident will be held in the Frist Multipurpose Room tonight. It is sponsored by Akwaaba, Princeton Caribbean Connection, Princeton Association of Black Women and the Black Men's Awareness Group.

"This event is a very unfortunate event and we take this as a precedent for the new measures we will take," the statement explained, also urging patrons to inform BlackBox staff or security personnel if non-Princeton students are seen at future events.

BlackBox is funded by the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students and the USG Projects Board. USG president Josh Weinstein '09 declined to comment on the incident, and Dean of Undergraduate Students Kathleen Deignan could not be reached for comment.

-Leah Haynesworth contributed reporting to this article.

Correction

The original version of this story incorrectly stated that BlackBox events do not check identification at the door as general policy. Identification is usually checked, but such checks were not performed the night of the incident. The Daily Princetonian regrets the error.