Residence Services staff issue safety notice after trespasser caught sleeping in residence building

By Scott Strasser, October 30 2016 —

University of Calgary Residence Services are reminding students to practice due diligence when letting people into their buildings, after a trespasser was caught sleeping multiple times in a U of C residence.

Residence Services issued a safety notice on Oct. 27 about the trespassing incidents to students living on campus.

“We want to let you know that a non-resident has been found multiple times recently sleeping in a residence building. In each case, campus security has attended and escorted the person out of the building,” the notice reads.

Residence Services associate director Randy Maus said safety and security are taken seriously within U of C residences, which is why they sent out the safety notice.

“People should only be in residence if they are residence students or are guests of a residence,” he said. “If they are neither of those, they’re not allowed to be in residence.”

According to Maus, trespassing in residence buildings is rare at the U of C but sometimes occurs when residents hold the door open for someone coming in after them.

“The way something like this would happen is that a student is coming into their residence space and then someone would — we call it tailgating — go in behind them,” he said. “That is really the problem [and] how this comes about. Someone is being kind or not diligent and they’re either giving access or someone is gaining access to the building.”

Campus security declined an interview request, but stated the matter was isolated and that basic precautionary measures were taken.

“Because this was an isolated incident from the standpoint of campus security, they didn’t feel compelled and required to share a lot of details,” a source within the U of C said. “But because this has happened more than one time, students need to be reminded of what was outlined in their orientation — greater vigilance and just a little more attention.”

Neither Maus or the U of C wished to provide the identity or gender of the trespasser, how many times they were caught, whether or not they were a student, which building they were found in or when the incidents occurred.