With only one gate open to enter and exit Dillard University atnight and early mornings, outsiders and wanderers walk and sometimedrive on the campus.

Several students said that they have seen non-Dillard studentsentering the campus near the Cook building and the duck pond. Thereare two entryways cars can drive and natives use to walk onDillard’s campus.

However Dillard’s Public Safety department are saying they havehad other problems with people entering the campus by the GentillyGardens.

On Oct. 1 around midnight, many female residence of WilliamsHall were shocked and disturbed by unexpected guest roaming thedorm. Williams’ residents said about 10 to 12 males wanderedthroughout the three floors.

Williams residents, Chelya Milo and Tyescha Link, bothsophomores, reported that the men were from natives to the Gentillyarea.

According to Chief Jacqueline Bumpas, the director of PublicSafety, four black males were arrested on that occasion fortrespassing.

Several Dillard students, since that incident, continue toexpress concern for their safety while on campus. Bumpas says herdepartment has implemented new safety measurements from the manytrespassing incidents on campus.

She also said that campus police will continue to patrol thecampus more than ever before, roaming the residence halls duringpeak hours of 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. The campus police will report thedorm and campus status to their supervisors so that all of campuspolice are informed and alert, Bumpas said.

On that Friday night, the coed dorm was a regular Friday nightuntil random non-Dillard students wandered the halls of Williams.Students reported that the wanderers were roaming the halls floorby floor making their way to the third level. Many asked how theygot on campus given the campus security improvements.

Bumpas said that there are three ways people can enter thecampus. Problems have occurred with the duck pond, Gentilly Gardensand the wall by the levee. People also jump over the wall by thetennis courts, Bumpas said.

Students were out at parties, on dates, gone to the movies andother off campus activities and events, according to Williamsresidents. Therefore, many of Williams’ residents were not in thedorm that Friday night.

For this reason, the lose curfew and extra guests could haveposed a safety threat to the females on campus.

Esther Mathews, a sophomore business management major recountedthe incident.

“I was in my room by myself, my roommate was across the hall inanother suite and my suitemate was gone too. My other suitemate hadjust told me that she was getting in the shower. I could’ve gottenraped. It was so many of them, they could have locked the door fromthe inside and did anything,” Mathews said.

While watching a movie, Mathews then said she heard constantknocking outside her door in her suite. She then said that someonewas knocking on her suitemate’s door.

“I knew my suitemate was in the shower and she didn’t sayanything about anyone coming over and to let them know that she wasin the shower,” Mathews said.

It was only Mathews and her suitemate, Erika Orkes, a sophomoreeducation major, in the suite; both of their roommates were gone.Because of Orkes being in the shower, Mathew said they must havegotten distracted and did not come to her room.

Shortly after the knocking stopped in the suite, Mathews heardthem leave.

Mathews said it was then that it occurred to her that they weregoing suite to suite because they went directly across the hall tothe next suite.

“I was trying to figure out their motive because there were somany of them. By the time I got up to look out of my suite into thehallway, the 10 or more men were walking towards the elevator,”Mathews said.

Mathews then said that she decided to look into the hallway asshe heard noise that sounded like arguments. Many students werestartled from the outsider’s intrusion. The flustered femalestudents followed the wandering men out into the hallway thatcaused trouble and major attention.

Tyesha Link, a sophomore biology pre-med major said that arandom guy walked into her room on the third floor of Williams.According to Link, she was styling sophomore Cheyla Milo’s hair,while the intruder entered her room.

Link said that the wandering man asked, “What ya’ll doing? Ya’lldoing hair?” as he tried to make himself comfortable in seatinghimself.

Nevertheless, Link and Milo felt aggravated and disturbed whenthe random male entered the room. The sophomore girls said thatthey were shocked and upset that he walked in as if he knew them oras if the room was his.

“I was just aggravated that he didn’t knock. He could’ve atleast knocked first before just barging in my room,” Link said.

The sophomore girls were having a “girls-night-out” in the thirdfloor suite just before the intruder interrupted them. Soon afterthe male walked into Link’s room, Link said that they asked him whohe was and told him to leave. While trying to get the intruder out,she noticed about five more males standing in her suite.

She assumed the others were waiting on their friend’s approvalto enter Link’s room. Most of the guys had dreads, gold teeth,white t-shirts, rags and jeans, according to Milo.

“It wasn’t even my room and I felt violated and unsafe,” Milosaid.

Link said that she and Milo followed them out into the hallwayto make sure they were leaving. As they walked in the hallway, Linkdiscovered more female students upset and yelling because of therandom males going door to door.

According to other female students, the roaming males asked,”Why everybody kicking us out? Didn’t y’all order a stripper?”

This question made the situation worst as the students ofWilliams phoned the third floor resident assistant. It appearedthat the third floor resident assistant was not in her room becauseLink and several other girls tried to call. The students said thatthey tried more than five times to call the resident assistant toreport the problem. By this time, it was after 1:30 a.m. when thestudents tried to contact the night dorm mother.

Williams’ office phone just rang and rang with no one sitting atthe front desk.

“I went down stairs and the lights were off in the office. Ms.Johnson, our night dorm mother was nowhere to be found,” Mathewssaid.

The students said that they were frustrated because they couldnot reach anyone to report this problem. Many students had finallycalled campus police on their third attempt.

“Williams need to come up with a better strategic plan forsomeone being in charge because there was nobody there. No R.A. andno dorm mother. Who was running the dorm?” Mathews said.

Mathews, Link, Milo and many other residents said that they feltin danger particularly with no one to call. It was said thatDillard has improved security on campus, but the students said thatthey did not feel safe.

The campus police soon came to the students’ rescue. It appearsthat only four intruders were arrested for trespassing. Severalstudents said that campus police had the men in handcuffs and inthe police cars behind Williams.

Link and Milo said they were looking out of Link’s third floorwindow as a few of the wandering men looked up at them and asked,”Why did ya’ll dime us out?”

According to Chief Bumpas, Dillard campus police arrested fourblack males. Bumpas said that campus police saw the men in WilliamsHall on the third floor near the elevator. The men were then askedfor identification, which they could not give.

Bumpas said that campus police reported that the men werebetween 17 and 20-years old. “We need everyone to play their role,”Bumpas said.

The chief explained that she is implementing a power shift. Thepower shift will consist of campus police patrolling throughout thedorms mainly during peak hours of 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. Campus policewill report to their supervisors and Bumpas during the powershifts.

Bumpas said that campus police will patrol other hours as well,but more so between the peak hours. It appears that most ofDillard’s traffic comes on campus during the peak hours.
Ms. Maron, Williams Hall dorm mother, was unavailable forcomment.