At a meeting last night to discuss recent incidents in Streeter residence hall, Acting Associate Dean of Residential Life Mary Liscinsky discussed ideas about how to effectively prevent non-residents from entering student dormitories.
She suggested the possibility of locking all of the doors of Streeter residence hall and possibly all dorms on campus, but because students prop doors, Liscinsky said this method "is only as effective as people make it."
Although putting a lock on the women's restroom has been raised as a possibility, Liscinsky said the women's restroom in Streeter cannot be locked because it is an "emergency means of regress," or fire exit.
Area Director of West Campus Anne Janeway, Safety and Security Sergeant Marc Lancaster and several students attended the meeting.
They presented suggestions for safety measures from several of the participants and voiced concern over the incident.
Liscinsky said she is also considering putting phones outside all the dorms so students won't prop doors for food delivery men.
Another possibility is a two-key system where every student will have a key which unlocks all the residence halls and a specific key for their room.
Many residents of second floor Streeter were in attendance, including Lauren Breimyer '98, who last weekend encountered the suspect male in the women's restroom, which led to the meeting.
She said that as she entered the second floor bathroom late Saturday night, a male quickly ran out. After returning to her room, she received a phone call from a man impersonating a Panda House deliverer. She hung up, but said the same individual called again and told her, "You were looking so sexy in the bathroom."
Breimyer said she did not recognize the individual and reported the incident the next morning. Lancaster advised her and all students to call Safety and Security immediately after such incidents.
Lancaster said Safety and Security has a description of the suspect, but will not reveal it at this stage of the investigation.
According to Lancaster, Safety and Security has begun beefing up security in Streeter. In addition to running more checks late at night, there will be extra security on the weekends.
The Hanover Police has also been notified and are cooperating in the investigation, Lancaster said.
He advised all students to report anything suspicious and leave anything unusual they find for Safety and Security. For now, notices will be posted in Streeter warning all students to report any suspicious behavior.
Lancaster said, "I do worry about the safety of the campus and all the people who have access."
Breimyer said "the access of information on this campus is amazing." She said that it is scary that anyone with access to BlitzMail can look up a student's name and phone number.
One of the women on second floor Streeter said she didn't take the vandalism of the restrooms seriously until this past weekend. At the meeting, some female students expressed their fear and concern.
Bodhaine said, "I check to make sure the bathroom is okay now." Another student said she is afraid to take showers late at night.
Several of the women on the floor said they thought the person responsible for the incidents might have been someone upset with a second floor Streeter resident.
