Homecoming: Students reflect on the events surrounding G-20 Summit
September 27, 2013
On Sept. 24 and 25, 2009, an interna- tional economic summit that took place in Pittsburgh led to protests, riots and arrests throughout the city and on Pitt’s campus.
While several Pitt students attended the demonstrations to protest peacefully or to simply see what was happening, a number of students were arrested or dispersed from areas on campus through the use of tear gas and other crowd-control measures.
Students still remember the riots of 2009, sporting shirts joking “I sur- vived the G-22 riots.” Protesters from a diverse range of ideologies opposed what they saw as exploitative trade and environmental policies on the part of many Group of 20, or G-20, countries. The G-20 includes the United States, members of the European Union, many of their trade partners and other devel-
oped nations. On Thursday, Sept. 24, protesters in Oakland, Lawrenceville and Donwntown near the David L. Lawrence Convention Center — the summit’s pri- mary venue — demonstrated in opposi- tion of the G-20 Summit and the leaders of the industrialized world.
That night in Oakland, some protesters broke windows and committed other acts of property destruction along Forbes Avenue when the demonstration against the summit turned into a riot.
Bill Bird, who graduated from Pitt last year and was a student at the time of the 2009 G-20 Summit, said that he believed about a dozen protesters were committing vandalism — a small minority of the full group.
“A lot of it seemed like they were people from out of town,” he said.
On Friday, Sept. 25, protesters gathered in Schenley Plaza. Bird said that on that day, destructive protestors again constituted a small minority of those involved in the demonstrations. He added that a majority of Pitt students were there to see what was going on or to protest what they saw as a harsh response from the city of Pittsburgh the day before.
Although Pitt’s Emergency Notification System did not update students on Sept. 24 during the most destructive protests, Pitt Police Chief Tim Delaney said in 2009 that he activated the system on Sept. 25 in order to help students avoid trouble. At about 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 25, the ENS notified students to exercise good judgment as protests continued. Shortly after 10 p.m., more protesters arrived at Schenley Plaza and a second ENS alert warned students to stay near their residences.
By about 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 25, at least 200 protesters had gathered in the plaza. Police officers brought in a long-range acoustic device, or “sound cannon,” and told protesters to disperse, according to anarticle published in The Pitt News the following day.
About half an hour later, a line of police several officers deep surrounded the plaza.
At the time, Schenley Plaza closed at 11 p.m. every night. Police declared the protest an unlawful assembly and told the demonstrators to disperse or they would be arrested.
Vaughn Wallace, who graduated from Pitt in 2012, had been photographing the crowd gathering near Schenley Plaza. At the time, he was the visual editor for The Pitt News.
He spoke to Delaney before the riots and arrests began, and was advised to go home and to stay indoors.
“That was a pretty clear statement [from Delaney], but I stayed for my job,” said Wallace, who is now a producer for Time Magazine’s Lightbox blog.
Wallace was handcuffed and taken to a police van parked near Alumni Hall on Fifth Avenue. He said he was arrested despite the badge he was wearing that night that signified that he was a credentialed member of the press. In addition to official credentials for the summit, Wallace also wore Pitt News credentials.
“The police recognized that and the officer who was arresting me acknowledged that I was wearing credentials,” Wallace said. “He treated me rather nicely, which was a surprise because I know a lot of the students were treated rather poorly.”
Wallace remained in the vehicle for several hours before being taken to a state correctional institution on the North Side. Wallace’s credentials and photo gear were confiscated upon arrival, and he spent the night in the jail with others who had been arrested. He was processed and released around 11 a.m. the next day.
Meanwhile, his roommate had been arrested that night while trying to return to his dorm.
“We weren’t together and he had just been walking across campus coming from North Oakland,” Wallace said. “He had no idea what was going on and he was illegitimately arrested,” he said.
He remembers Delaney informing students and parents that the Pitt police didn’t want to incriminate innocent students, and that their main priority was protecting the students.
Wallace said that he remembered Delaney as a “kind of spokesperson” for Pitt.
Delaney later presented a case to officials to have Wallace’s charges dropped. Wallace’s case was dismissed before any court appearance.
Dean of Students Kathy Humphrey read a University statement during the Student Government Board meeting the week following the G-20 Summit to tell students who had been arrested that they could discuss their charges with Pitt police. Delaney later advocated with Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala for many of the other students who were arrested to have those students’ charges dropped.
Delaney and administrators also chose not to send students who were arrested during the protests to Pitt’s Judicial Board.
“I don’t remember Nordenberg specifically making any statements,” he said. “I have a very favorable memory of Chief Delaney, not just because he bailed me out of charges, but because I remember that he was making statements.”
Delaney described Chancellor Nordenberg as being very active in preparation for and aware of what was going on during the G-20 Summit and protests.
“Chancellor Nordenberg was kept abreast of all situations during that period and he came to the site of the situation to personally assure himself that everything possible was being done to keep his students safe,” said Delaney.
“The chancellor has the utmost confidence in our University police,” said Ken Service, vice chancellor for communication.
Service said that Nordenberg was in constant communication with Pitt’s police.
Marissa Doyle, a spokesperson for the office of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, said the G-20 Summit was a positive event for the city.
“We were honored when President Obama hand picked Pittsburgh to host the 2009 G-20 Economic Summit,” she said in an email. “With the eyes of the world on our city, we’re proud to say that the event was a success thanks to the joint efforts of so many local leaders.”
Doyle would not comment on the protests that occurred throughout the city or on Pitt’s campus.
When asked what role the University and the mayor’s office played during the G-20 demonstrations, Doyle said she couldn’t recall specific communications between involved Pittsburgh institutions.
Wallace said he remembered the riots as a series of events that “got ugly really fast.”
“I think [Nordenberg] did as much as he could, but I’m just surprised, thinking back at it, that this was ever allowed to happen, that there was any kind of unclear police action that happened against innocent students, I mean truly innocent students,” Wallace said.
