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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.