Acting in the wake of a shooting incident that occurred Saturday outside Walker Memorial as a party there was ending, Associate Dean Magaret Jablonski has announced that, until further notice, MIT has suspended the use of its facilities for large parties involving attendance by people outside the MIT community.
Dean Jablonski said that during the next few months "we will be examining our policies and procedures, with student input, to determine if MIT will host such events in the future."
MIT and Cambridge police are continuing their investigations into the Saturday shooting of a Northeastern University student on the Memorial Drive sidewalk outside Walker Memorial. No arrest has been made.
Clifton Whilby, 18, was shot in the upper right thigh at about 1:10am on December 2, shortly after an Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity social event concluded.
Campus Police were on duty inside Walker for the properly registered event for which metal detectors were in use at the doors. No incidents occurred inside Walker, police said.
The party ended at 1am. The shooting occurred in the midst of a crowd of people, some leaving the event and others who had congregated on the sidewalk after being denied entrance, which was by college ID only, police said. Mr. Whilby was taken by Professional Ambulance Co. to Massachusetts General Hospital where he was treated. Police said the bullet passed through his thigh.
Cambridge police responded to the event, joining the Campus Police Officers already at the scene. A Cambridge officer found a spent cartridge case.
Later in the early morning, Campus Police arrested two young men near a living unit on Amherst Alley and charged them with trespassing. Police said the men, not connected with MIT, were trying to gain entrance to a living group after the event at Walker. Some 200 congregated near the living unit. Many had parked cars on Amherst Alley. The crowd broke up after Campus Police ordered some cars towed and made the two arrests.
In her statement on Monday, December 4, Dean Jablonski said the suspension decision was reached in conjunction with Campus Police and the Campus Activities Complex.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on December 6, 1995.
