By By Brian Bohl
New questions about safety concerns on campus have been raised after two female University students filed reports of a man entering the women’s bathroom on the lower level of the Student Center.
The suspect is reported to be a Hispanic or Mexican male in his late 20s, Ed Bracht, the director of public safety, said.
The incidents happened within a span of two weeks from late September into the first week of October.
Both accounts claimed the suspect entered the restroom for the purpose of looking into a neighboring stall.
“He sat in one stall and peered over into the other,” Bracht said. “Both times when the women shouted for help, he immediately ran out.”
The women who filed the complaints could not be reached for comment.
University officials do not believe the man is a student, but cannot yet verify that claim.
He is reported to have a dark complexion with a scar on his right face.
While the news is disturbing, Bracht said similar invasion of privacy complaints have been pretty rare in the past.
“Knock on wood, I can’t really think of any other incident in the last 20 years that was like this,” he said.
The University maintains an open campus policy during the day, which gives non-students free access to the Student Center, Bits ‘n Bytes and the Deli, among other places.
Bracht said putting up restrictions during the day would be counter intuitive to the University’s goal of encouraging the public to attended sporting events, lectures and concerts held at the different venues across the school.
“There are a million events on campus that the public is invited to,” Bracht said.
Safety precautions are implemented more heavily at night.
The south side of campus is locked down after midnight, with public access points, like the Unispan, that can only be accessed with a valid ID card.
The north side, where the dormitories are stationed, also increases security measures in the evening, requiring motorists to swipe in at a booth manned by a public safety officer.
“The security is good on campus,” Valerie McDonald, a sophomore business management major, said. “The school excels in controlling who enters the campus, but they can’t really control what someone does when they are on campus. I don’t know how they would monitor that.”
The University releases an annual safety report that outlines policies and statistics of all criminal activity in the last three years.
In 2004, there were three cases of sexual offensives, up one from 2003. There were also 51 burglary crimes, with 36 occurring at residential facilities.
No cases of aggravated assault were reported for 2004, a decrease of four from the previous year.
Grant Parker, Vice President of the Student Government Association, said his organization has worked with public safety on behalf of the student body to discuss ways to improve security on campus.
“Two years ago, many members of SGA worked to fight the implementation of slam locks in the towers on campus,” said Parker. “Additionally, the Student Services Committee often takes concerns to Public Safety regarding the Blue Beetle, privacy rights and general campus safety issues.”
Signs have been posted on all doors and stalls in the women’s bathrooms in the Student Center describing the suspect.

The University has posted signs around the women’s bathrooms in the Student Center warning female students of an alleged peeping Tom. (Jeanine Poggi/The Chronicle)