By By Brian Bohl
After a University student was forcibly fondled in the stairwell of the Twin Oaks complex, public safety has taken new steps to increase security measures.
The incident occurred Oct. 13 at 9 p.m. in the stairwell of 7 Manor Avenue.
The victim suffered light scratches on her arm, believed to be either from a key or another object.
She would not comment, but described the suspect to officers as a black male about 6-feet tall and approximately 180 pounds.
He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a dark shirt and white sneakers, according the report. He is still at large.
Director of Public Safety, Ed Bracht, notified all residents the following day that fire exits in the apartment are now to be used only in case of an emergency.
This new policy will be enforced with video monitoring and punishable by an appearance summons.
“This incident is known to people in the building,” Bracht said. “We had fliers put under the doors of all the residents to let them know what happened.”
In addition to increased electronic surveillance, there will now be a public safety officer on site permanently. The number of additional officers on patrol will also be increased in the area.
“Before, we just had officers walk around the area as part of their rounds,” Bracht said. “Now, we will have someone there 24/7.”
The University issued a notice reaffirming the entrance policy for the dorms. It requires students to go to the door of their building to personally let visitors inside.
Guests will not be allowed to swipe in with borrowed cards.
“I feel that students who allow people to piggyback on their swipe cards are probably more at fault than University security,” said Katie Brooker, a junior English major who lives in the apartments. “I was glad to see that action was taken to amend the situation.”
“The public safety officer even walked me up the stairs to my room the other day when the elevator was out of service,” she added. “I hope they plan to stick around. I think their paycheck is money wellspent.”
Not every resident of Twin Oaks had the same optimistic assessment on the job of public safety, however.
Narita Ramnath, a junior public relations major, said the increased presence of security is welcome, but the University could do more.
“I actually don’t feel safe, and I don’t think that public safety is doing their best,” she said. “But I have seen more safety officers around. It’s good to know that there will be more safety at Twin Oaks because it is necessary.”