Students left in silence after camera was found in Kroner bathroom

By Cal Sutton

After a universitywide email issued a timely warning on Sept. 30 about a camera found in a bathroom of Kroner Hall, students at the university have been left in the dark in regard to procuring any new information on the case.

In accordance with federal laws, the Rider Alert was sent out to members of the Rider community.

The email read, “We are issuing the following timely warning notice. On Sept. 30, a camera was discovered in a bathroom in Kroner Hall. In partnership with Lawrence Police, Public Safety is actively investigating the matter.”

Anna Dalessio, a senior arts and entertainment industries management major, lives in Kroner Hall and said that she has not received any new information about the incident, despite potentially being firsthand affected by the bathroom camera.

“I was shocked, … disgusted and scared,” Dalessio said.

The camera, discovered in a gender neutral bathroom, left students on campus concerned for their own safety.

Mallory Hoelzl, a sophomore public relations major, lives in Kroner Hall as well and felt uncomfortable going to the bathroom after the incident.

“I definitely felt really nervous about even going into my own dorm bathrooms and I felt very uneasy,” Hoelzl said. 

After the timely warning issued at 8:26 p.m., there was an influx of posts on Fizz, a social media app to connect students on college campuses. One post made 12 minutes after the timely warning was issued read, “I wish there was more transparency on certain matters happening here. What bathroom was the camera found in … etc. I always feel extremely in the dark.”

According to Ryan McKinney, director of Title IX and equal opportunity compliance and Title IX coordinator, “University investigators from [the Title IX office] have been assigned to investigate the matter. They are working with Public Safety, as well as [Lawrence] Police.”

The Title IX Office is available to connect affected students to resources and help through situations like these as well.

“Our office is available to ensure affected students are connected to the supportive resources that they need, we are happy to help in any way that we can,” McKinney said.

McKinney urged anyone who has any information on the incident to reach out to the Title IX Office or Public Safety directly.

“I definitely think there is an effort [by the university] to preserve the safety of students,” Hoelzl said. “[But] who even knows how long the camera was in there for and how long the student was able to get away with it, which is also a concern.”

Director of Public Safety Matthew Babcock declined to comment in an email to The Rider News on Nov. 13.

“This is a Title IX case so I cannot comment,” Babcock said.

After numerous attempts to reach Lawrence Police for a comment or updates on the incident, The Rider News did not receive any information.

Situations regarding student safety on campus are concerning, said Hoelzl, but she also acknowledged that the university has a lot of aspects of student safety to worry about, saying, “I definitely don’t like [the lack of information], but at the same time … if there’s no updates, then what can [the university] really do?”

Dalessio said situations like these are not particularly common, but being left without further information about safety issues affects students greatly. 

“In general, I feel pretty safe [on campus],” she said. “My only issue comes when … [students are] kept in the dark about things like this, that directly affect us.”