On Friday the Incident Review Committee (IRC) released its report regarding the events of Nov. 6 following news of the presidential election results.
Chancellor Dan Jones sent an email via UM Today releasing the 17 page report detailing the official account of the night. The report was compiled after the IRC completed a series of interviews with students and UPD officers involved in the events.
The report includes a detailed timeline of the night and a series of protest-related tweets reviewed by the committee. The report mentions multiple times that the accusations made via social media were false and only made the situation worse.
The report mentions the involvement of student media outlets in the events, as well as a reaction from a Memphis reporter who briefly discusses the use of the word “riot” in describing the events. The IRC’s report also notes that the incorrect use of the word directed the national media’s attention to the events.
The IRC also addresses the night’s problem of observers and curious onlookers. The report states that the committee thinks it is “more appropriate to refer to these students as ‘passive participants,’ because by their mere presence they played a role that contributed to difficulties with crowd control and negative media coverage.”
The overall mood of the night is discussed within the report, with the committee finding instances of racial tension and feelings of fear and vulnerability among participants.
As a part of the report, the IRC compiled a series of referrals.
Five students have been recommended to be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. Three are being referred for their misconduct on the night of the protest and the other two are being recommended for referral based on their Election Night arrests.
According to the report, “the Committee recommends one student be referred to the Office of the Provost for further investigation of academic dishonesty.”
Ten students have been recommended for participation and completion of a “Restorative Justice program” because of their “irresponsible, inflammatory, and false posts” on social media sites. These tweets and Facebook posts are being blamed for encouraging and feeding into the events of Election Night.
