A squid was found inside a light fixture in one of the Red Bricks residence halls on Monday.
“Upon inspection, it was discovered that a squid had somehow ended up inside the light fixture, causing both damage and an unpleasant odor,” Student Development Coordinator Nina Schmuelling said in an email to residents of Tenaya Hall.
The squid was removed from Tenaya by a Cal Poly custodian, according to multiple students. In an attempt to combat the stench, the university provided box fans in the hallway.
“I was just walking down the hall, and I came back, and then there was a guy cleaning up the squid looking very angry,” resident advisor Spencer Silverman said. “So I asked, ‘What’s going on?’ He’s like, ‘Somebody put a squid in the light bulb.’ And I was like, ‘That’s hilarious.’”
Silverman did not know who put the squid in the light, but theorized, “It’s probably a frat thing.”
One resident who lives in the affected hall said that the stench was not that strange, alluding to other rooms in the hall smelling worse than the squid.
“I’m pretty nose blind living in this hall,” physics freshman Dominic Lepore said.
Lepore was also unaware of who put the squid in the fixture, and had a suggestion for the university.
“They’re probably not going to find out who did it, but maybe they should come up with an incentive to and then find the frat that did it,” Lepore said.
Another Tenaya resident who lives on the third floor was caught more off guard by the smell of the squid, but was not aware of the cause.
“It smelled awful. I thought someone peed at first. It was disgusting,” business freshman Audrey Tackett said. “It’s just classic Red Bricks behavior.”