A man was trespassing and acting in a lewd manner in the men’s locker room in the Stoller Center on Wednesday, Nov. 2.
Around 9:30 p.m., Campus Public Safety responded to a call from the football coaches about trespasser. When CPS verified that the man was not a Pacific community member, CPS placed the man under citizen’s arrest for criminal trespassing. The man was handed over to the Forest Grove Police Department.
The FGPD has since released the man, giving him a citation. Although the man was released and is no longer in custody, the investigation is still active with the FGPD and CPS, according to Environmental Health and Campus Safety Manager Rob Dahl.
Based on the information available for the case at the time of printing, Dahl said it made sense for the FGPD to only cite the man.
It has been rumored that the man has been present, showering with the male athletes of the football and wrestling teams, for more than this instance. Sophomores said the man was present in the locker room last season as well.
“I’m frustrated with the number of events this semester that have been delayed in reporting to us,” said Dahl. “It makes it hard to do our job.”
Dahl said he feels like a broken record when he says that everyone needs to be aware and use CPS as a resource for security. “We can’t do this alone,” he said.
He said the security measures currently set in place would not be changing. The Stoller Center itself is one of the less-secure areas of campus because access is easy and many members of the Pacific community use the center.
Discussions have taken place between athletics and CPS about improving security, but Dahl said considering budget and inconveniences for Pacific community members, more security isn’t an option.
While Dahl said CPS plans on continuing regular security measures he wants CPS to be the first option for suspicious behavior on campus.
“We need people to not hesitate to pick up the phone,” said Dahl.
While the discussion of security does come up, this instance was not very concerning, said Dahl. Members of the football team agreed the trespasser was harmless. Dahl said this event was “fairly benign” and even though the incident is concerning, the suspect did not seem intent on causing harm.
Given this incident, Dahl said that CPS is going to be more consistently checking Boxer ID cards to make sure individuals are where they are supposed to be.
“I hope students recognize that this measure is a plus for their protection and to not take offense to it,” said Dahl.
He likened CPS checking ID cards to a cashier double-checking an ID when someone uses a credit card. Dahl said, “We have to be more aware as well.”
An email was sent as a warning to the Pacific community on Thursday, Nov. 3 to inform and notify the Pacific community so that everyone was aware, but it didn’t go as smoothly as Dahl would have hoped.
A glitch in the University Information Services email system prevented numerous individuals on the Pacific student and employee list serves from receiving the email. Dahl said that even he didn’t receive the first email.
UIS resent the email on Nov. 4. It includes a photo of the man and information about the incident. Dahl said that there is a clear message to immediately inform CPS if the man is seen again on campus or if anyone has more information regarding him.
“We want to be an open and inviting campus,” said Dahl, “but we also have to be secure. Without working together, incidents like this won’t change.”
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