A 20-year-old non-student man who claimed to live on campus entered a residence hall on Oct. 13, according to reports made to Cal Poly Police Department by students.
At around 2:30 a.m., campus police received a call from Muir Hall that a man had entered through a door that had been left open. The man spoke to multiple residents and gave conflicting accounts about his identity, according to University Spokesperson Matt Lazier. Campus police received two more calls about the same man trying to enter Sequoia and Tenaya halls, but he had left the area once police responded.
Police issued the man a warning to stay away from campus for the next week. If he is found during that time on campus, he will be arrested for trespassing. There is no warrant out for his arrest.
Tenaya resident and English freshman Gavin Hart did not see the man, but said pictures of him had been circulating in his hall’s group chats. Hart described the man as wearing a blue-checkered shirt and black jeans.
In order to get into any of the South Mountain dorms, residents need a key card to get into the main entrance and a physical key to unlock their dorm rooms.
Residents in Tenaya used their first-floor common room white board to pool together their descriptions and anecdotes about this man. According to the white board, the man asked odd questions, pressured students to hold the door open for him and claimed that he lives in Trinity Hall.
“This whole incident makes me feel really proud of my hall — how we took care of one another and made sure everyone was on alert,” Hart said. “I was also thankful for the officers for still reacting even at a late hour in the night.”
University Housing Coordinator of Student Development Johnny Moreno sent an email to the three halls reminding them to be diligent and that all guests must be housing residents. Moreno declined an interview with Mustang News.
“I think we are a little too trusting with the environment that we’re in,” Tenaya resident and theater arts freshman Jenna Brock said.
Brock commented on the two on-campus rapes that have happened in the last week. The first one happened in Architecture Graveyard and the second one in Poly Canyon Village. Students were notified of these two incidents via university email.
“We’re all continuing to learn and get to know each other … so it’s a lot easier to be like ‘oh let’s let people in,” Brock said.
Freshman have only been on campus for a little over a month. Brock says it easy to trust people who look like students.
“I’m definitely going to start locking my door more,” Tenaya resident and environmental earth and soil sciences freshman Adriana Gyepes said.
Lazier said University Housing staff are talking with residents to answer questions and share information. Lazier did not say if any increased security efforts will be implemented.