There was a man harassing students on the south side of campus near Monroe hall. // Photo courtesy of Lily Spinda.
A source has asked to remain anonymous out of concern for their safety. The pseudonym Brandon will be used.
Hofstra’s Public Safety team received at least two separate calls reporting a man harassing students on the south side of campus on Thursday, April 27, around 8:25 p.m. The reports described a man, allegedly named James, following and harassing students in and around studio rooms in Monroe Hall.
“I kept trying to make it clear that I didn’t want to speak to him, but he didn’t care,” said Daniela Macias, a sophomore music business major. “I was scared he’d hurt me if I told him to stop following me.”
Macias recalled the man grabbing her hand on the Unispan while she headed toward the north side of campus. He asked her several questions about herself, including where she lived on campus and if she had any friends. According to Macias, she spoke shortly with him, yet he continued to follow her from Starbucks into a studio in Monroe Hall.
“He asked me if I do psychedelics and smoke weed,” Macias said. “He kept asking me to go off campus with him.”
“He obviously didn’t go here, even though he told me he was a freshman,” Macias said. “He kept asking me about stuff students would know, like what time the buildings were open and closed and if anyone had access to them or if they needed an ID.”
After being followed across campus, Macias texted her friend, Yukana Hirasawa, who waited for her in Monroe Hall. She warned Hirasawa that someone was following her into Monroe Hall and wouldn’t leave her alone.
“I opened the door, and then I saw the guy’s face, and I was like, ‘That’s the same guy that approached me earlier. This is awkward,’” said Hirasawa, a graduate music business major.
Hirasawa said that the same man approached her on the Unispan hours before the incident with Macias. He asked if there were any bathrooms, and after she directed him to the closest bathroom in the library, the man ran in the opposite direction.
“He said he was from Hofstra, but then a few seconds later, he said he’s visiting his friend who goes to Hofstra,” Hirasawa said.
When Macias arrived at Monroe Hall and she and Hirasawa realized the man left in the opposite direction of the exit, they called Public Safety.
After leaving Macias and Hirasawa’s room, the man allegedly entered another studio room where a student named Brandon and his band were rehearsing.
“He asked, ‘What’s going on here?’ and ‘Can I join?’” Brandon said. “I’m just like, this is weird because the [music students] that use the building understand that when you’re rehearsing, you need your privacy.”
Brandon asked the man what his major or grade was. “He couldn’t look me in the face while answering these questions,” Brandon said. Soon after, he noticed faded tattoos of Roman numerals on his knuckles that led him to believe the man wasn’t an incoming freshman like he claimed.
Brandon asked the man what year his graduating class was. He told Brandon “this year” and later backtracked and said he was graduating next semester, according to Brandon.
“I did give him the option of where to sit, but he chose to sit by one of my [female] friends playing the piano,” Brandon said.
Brandon recalled feeling scared and unsure if he should tell the man to leave. “I didn’t want to tell him to leave. Because what if he doesn’t want to leave?” Brandon said.
Minutes after the man sat with Brandon and his friends, Brandon left the studio to call Public Safety. Public Safety responded and searched Monroe Hall for the man. Afterward, Macias and Hirasawa filed an incident report.
“Public Safety received a report at about 8:25 p.m. on Thursday, April 27, that a man was attempting to engage with students, claiming to be a first-year student,” read a statement from Jovanni Ortiz, manager of community engagement and transportation at Public Safety. “Officers found him near the Monroe Lecture Center on the South Campus, determined he was not a student and detained him at the Hofstra Information Center until Nassau County Police arrived. The man was banned from campus, and he will be arrested if he returns.”
The man resisted removal from campus and did not cooperate with Public Safety officers, which prompted the arrival of Nassau County Police, according to Public Safety officials.
The incident has impacted Macias’ behavior on campus.
“I definitely used to feel safe walking alone at night on campus, but I don’t anymore,” Macias said. “I’m a lot more careful about where I’m going on campus and a lot more aware of my surroundings even during the daytime. I think we just have to hope it doesn’t happen again.”
“He didn’t actually do something to us, so I’m not traumatized or anything,” Hirasawa said. “But it reminded me that literally anyone can come on this campus, so it’s not completely safe even though it’s on campus.”
Public Safety encouraged everyone with any information regarding harassment, including but not limited to this incident, to contact them.
