Architecture engineering sophomore Cambria Gray was seven days out from move-in when she first received the email about a reported break-in at a Poly Canyon Village apartment. In a week, Gray would move 845 miles to live in PCV. She felt afraid.
For incoming and returning resident advisors, it was their fifth day of training before the academic year started. Two weeks later, university police arrested resident advisor Alexis Alejandro on suspicion of the reported break-in on Sept. 20. He pleaded not guilty to felony charges of burglary and intent to commit rape during his first court appearance on Sept. 25.
Since Alejandro’s arrest, the university said they increased patrols and hired four specialists to patrol University Housing Facilities. Cal Poly did not point to any changes they have made in how they hire or train RAs. Poly Canyon Village residents like Gray said that while their initial fear has mostly worn off, two months later, they are hoping for more answers from Cal Poly.
“University Housing is actively discussing a variety of potential changes to policy and programming in the wake of this incident. As those discussions are ongoing, we don’t have additional details to share at this time,” university spokesperson Matt Lazier said.
How RAs are selected or removed at Cal Poly
Cal Poly’s current selection for resident advisors includes a two-round interview process, which includes an individual interview followed by a group interview with activities. The method is meant to “engage the candidate’s problem-solving and critical thinking skills, knowledge of the role, communication skills, interpersonal and teamwork skills through situational and behavioral-based questions and scenarios,” according to University Housing spokesperson Chris DeMoville.
Psychology senior and former RA Kilee Horner knew she wanted to be an RA her freshman year, to help pay for her housing. For two years, she oversaw students in freshman residence halls on campus. She said the training covered a lot of topics, but felt unprepared and overwhelmed by the number of mental health crises she encountered.
For the 2024-25 academic year, University Housing received 600 RA applications. They offered positions to 190 people, including returning and first-time employees.
When 35 applicants declined this year, University Housing pulled from its alternative list, with 145 people. Alternates who are then finalized receive training for the role. Since the start of the fall quarter, two RAs have been dismissed. Mustang News asked University Housing what residence halls and what reasons these RAs were dismissed for, and this request was denied due to privacy concerns.
Poly Canyon Village, with nine apartment buildings, houses 55 RAs for 2,664 residents. There are approximately 50 residents for each RA in PCV, according to university data.
Before becoming an RA, applicants must complete a background check and live screening provided through the CPPD. In spring, RAs are selected or appointed for the following academic year.
“University Housing tries to get all of the livescans done by the end of spring term for those who have received their appointments,” Lazier said. “There may be later hires who need to get theirs done during training week prior to fall quarter.”
Animal science 2024 alumna Katherine So was an RA in Huasna during her senior year. She said the University Housing selection process will not catch everything. In her experience, she knew of RAs who would “abuse their power” after they have gone through the application, training and fingerprinting process.
“It seems like they would do such a good job, because there’s like three different processes you have to get through to become an RA, but at the same time, I know people that have gone through it and are just either really bad at their job, or they just don’t have the mentality to be an RA,” So said.
Mustang News requested an interview with CPPD officers three separate times on their new hire, Live Scan backgrounding process and patrol operations, and requested an interview with the new specialists.
University spokesperson Matt Lazier declined each interview request and responded to questions through email instead. University Housing was unable to accommodate interviews and also responded to questions through email.
This year’s RA contract states that an RA “may be released from their role” for violating their contract such as “being arrested for a serious crime.” Disciplinary actions taken after dismissal are taken under by the Office for Civil Rights and Compliance Office in coordination with CPPD. Lazier did not confirm if Alejandro was an alleged RA still, citing privacy concerns, but said he was barred from campus.
What’s next for Resident Advisors and safety measures
Three hours after police notified the community about the arrest, University Housing staff hosted a processing session for RAs, according to an email obtained by Mustang News. During week one, computer science sophomore and Corralitos resident Kai Liu said her RA visited each apartment on her floor to see how everyone was doing, which eased Liu’s fears.
In Buena Vista, as a third-time RA handed out roommate agreements, they checked on residents to gauge how they felt. The RA asked to remain anonymous to protect their job. They said they haven’t heard much about security protocol changes to PCV since then. Still, the RA thinks the university will try to address any issues related to the reported break-in.
“Housing is very, very good about seeing something happen that’s, like, really sensitive…They tell us everything that we need to do in the training and like the processes that it should be, and then after we after the events happen, they’re very much there to support us,” they said.
After the reported break-in at PCV, CPPD expanded their patrols, according to Lazier. Up to four officers patrol the entire campus during a shift. He did not specify how frequent the patrols were, how long the shifts were, or what times officers’ shifts are.
Additionally, CPPD is hiring for Community Services Specialists, who will assess damages on campus during daytime and nighttime patrols. Three people are “going through training right now,” Lazier said. When fully staffed, two will work during the day and night respectively.
Biomedical engineering sophomore and PCV resident Jamie Lomibao is still shocked. It’s been scarier in PCV, she said, especially at night. She whips her head around the dark surroundings when she returns home from classes – even when she’s walking with friends.
She hasn’t used support resources following the reported incident, but said her trust in using those resources is limited to begin with.
“We were supposed to trust the RAs too so it’s really hard to trust resources around campus because they were a resource for us, and supposed to make us feel safe.”
Jamie Lomibao
When one of Liu’s friends moved into Gypsum before the quarter started, she also felt afraid. Environmental management and protection sophomore Anna Yu locked her bedroom door in the apartment and lodged a chair by the apartment’s front entrance. In case someone broke in, she said, she would at least hear it.
Since receiving an email from Cal Poly that the suspect was arrested, and given the time that has passed, she doesn’t feel afraid anymore. Gray also wasn’t afraid by the time she moved into Inyo. She just wishes there was more information PCV residents like herself could have received.
“The other residents who are gonna have to live here in a week after it happens should know a little bit more about what happened, because we have to live it,” Gray said.