NYU students worried amid trespassing in residence halls

NEW YORK (PIX11) --- NYU students are on edge after four instances of trespassing inside residence halls in a two week span. 

A man bypassed security, hopped a turnstile, and followed two students in Lafayette Hall on Nov. 20, according to NYU student newspaper Washington Square Newspaper. One of the students reportedly tried to hide in the laundry room, and then a managed to run and lock herself inside her dorm room to escape. Campus security apprehended the intruder 20 minutes later.

On Nov. 1, there were two instances of trespassing just a few hours apart in Alumni Hall and Coral Tower. 

Cris Alvarez and Angel Murray, two freshman students living in the Third Avenue North residence hall, were victims of the fourth trespassing incident.

Alvarez said she was taking a nap, in the midst of studying for midterms, when a man trespassed into the residence hall, came into her apartment, and stared over her as she slept. 

“This is so disgusting,” said Alvarez. “The fact that someone can just easily walk into a girl’s freshman dorm.” 

Alvarez said she feels unsafe.

“We couldn’t sleep the day after," the student said. "Couldn’t sleep that whole week."

Suitemate Angel Murray was home at the time of the incident. She heard the unlocked apartment door open, and thought it was a maintenance worker. 

“We do have instances where maintenance will come in and they’ll knock, and then they’ll just come inside without us opening the door,” explained Murray.

But it was an intruder who came in, and walked into Murray’s room. 

“He didn’t say anything to me,” said Murray. “He just stared at me, stared into my room. It was really weird.”

Then, Murray said, the intruder walked into Alvarez’ room. 

“It was terrifying because I didn’t know who he was,” said Murray. “I didn’t know what he was doing. He didn’t say anything. He was just staring at me, staring at her."

The man then reportedly said he was in the wrong room and walked out.

In a statement, NYU spokesperson John Beckman said: 

“We have 24/7 coverage by NYU Campus Safety officers at the entrance to every student residence hall - these are our students’ homes, and our aim is for students to feel safe and secure in them.  So, the recent incidents of unauthorized intruders gaining access are troubling to the University, and we take them very seriously. 

“Despite the very considerable measures we already take, we need to learn from these incidents and correct any gaps in coverage or mistakes.  For that reason, the President of the University has asked for a full review of residence hall security to determine whether and what systemic issues there may be and what steps need to be taken to prevent any repeats.”

Last semester, NYU’s head of campus safety publicly apologized after an intruder got into a freshman dorm at least three times in one week, twice sleeping overnight in lounges. 

One of the deputy news editors of Washington Square Newspaper, who has been covering these incidents, said the problem is more than a matter of safety. 

“Students generally feel like there is a lack of communication from campus safety,” said Lauren Ashe. “A lot of times, the residents of these halls aren’t hearing about these instances until days later from Campus Safety. And people outside of the halls aren’t hearing from campus safety at all.”