Students were arrested all throughout Wednesday for crimes they may or may not have committed. Fortunately, their jail cell was in the Student Activities Center.
Jail N’ Bail was an event held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 17 in which students paid $5 for a warrant for their friends’ and colleagues’ arrest. Students would then be found, arrested and given a bail by Judge Matthew Gregory. Bail was $10 for students and $20 for student leaders.
The proceeds of the event were donated to Maison Fortune Orphanage in Haiti. The proceeds exceeded $1,000.
The only thing students could keep in jail was a cell phone to call friends and family to come down and bail them out. If they had classes, work or simply did not want to participate, they were not forced to stay, said director of the event Natalie Munoz, who is also the residence hall director of the West Apartments.
Daniel Ahmadizadeh, a freshman and co-captain of the Stony Brook Quidditch Team placed a warrant for Undergraduate Student Government President Matthew Graham in conjuction with his teammates. According to Ahmadizadeh, the team decided to have Graham arrested because they thought it would be the prime opportunity to talk to him.
“We don’t get funding and storage space,” Ahmadizadeh said, hoping that talking with Graham would help improve the team and maybe even help them get funding.
Graham’s bail was set for a special $25, but Ahmadizadeh assured that he and his teammates would bail him out if they had to.
Jerrold Stein, associate vice president of student affairs and dean of students, was also arrested, but asked to be on house arrest.
“This is a fun way to get students involved,” Gregory said. “This is the first time I’ve seen this.”
Residence Hall Director of the Schomburg Apartments Christine Noonan said she was arrested after she went to bail out her friend, Lauterbur Hall Residence Hall Director Larry Whitehurst. Her bail was set to $20, and she had received a $1 donation within 15 minutes of being in jail.
“I think it’s awesome,” Noonan said about being in jail. “It’s bringing students together.”
