In response to unruly crowds outside Porter’s Pub Saturday night, UCSD police officers unexpectedly shut down the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Intersex Alliance-sponsored Non-Sexist Dance more than an hour before the event was scheduled to end.
LGBTQIA President Denny Grebe said police officers at the scene indicated that they were unaware of the event ‘mdash; which has been held twice quarterly for the past 20 years ‘mdash; although a calendar of all student-organization events is accessible via the Triton Activities Planner on the UCSD Web site.
‘We aren’t sure why they decided to shut it down other than that half the police force was already there, and they didn’t want to wait until the dance ended to worry about 600 people leaving at once,’ Grebe said.’
UCSD spokesman Paul Mueller said the dance was closed strictly for capacity and safety concerns and was not due to the authorities’ alleged lack of notification about the event.
‘There were far too many people inside and outside,’ Mueller said. ‘People were climbing over walls, and there was a report of a woman passed out in the bathroom.’
Mueller said officers at the scene consulted Grebe before agreeing to close the event early.
‘[We] started to protest, but they said, ‘So you give us permission to shut it down, right? Is that what you’re saying?” Grebe said. ‘So we backed down.’
According to Grebe, between 300 and 400 attendees were gathered outside Porter’s Pub when police officers and patrol cars arrived to disperse the crowd for injury and accident prevention.
‘It’s the only event on campus open to all ages,’ Grebe said. ‘I think that worries some people, so [police officers] suggested to have some age restrictions next time.’
However, Grebe added that imposing restrictions would undermine the dance’s defining all-access appeal, valued by local members of the LGBT community who are unable to frequent most bars and clubs due to their age.
Grebe said Saturday’s dance was the only one to date during which the crowd became uncontrollable, adding that during LGBTQIA’s first Fall Quarter dance, Porter’s Pub successfully accommodated all who attended. However, about 100 hopefuls were denied entrance at its second event.
‘People were trying to come in around the back, so we were basically surrounded by cops,’ Grebe said. ‘But I think they really were concerned about safety and the campus as a whole.’
Grebe said his organization considered moving the dance to a larger venue to accommodate the predicted crowds, but ultimately decided to continue holding it at Porter’s Pub, which has a capacity of 590.
‘Porter’s is self-contained,’ Grebe said. ‘It’s the perfect spot. Plus, our history is tied with that venue.’
Readers can contact Kimberly Cheng at [email protected].