Some students at Mount Royal University are taking extra precautions walking at night after reports of a naked man following women around.
MRU has received a total of four reports involving either a naked man or someone looking into residence windows since mid-September. The first two involved an individual looking into residence windows and two incidents regarding a naked man were reported on Oct. 14 and Oct. 21, according to an MRU spokesperson.
“I know people in the fourth or fifth floors scared to go to their cars and we are walking them to their cars to make sure he’s not out there harassing people,” said Jaydon Braybrook, who lives on campus.
A second-year student, who spoke with Global News but did not want to be identified due to safety concerns, said she was at a party on Friday night when a friend left to go to her residence on campus.
“We got a text saying she saw this person that was naked and at first our friends took it as a joke but then she said: ‘No, I need help. I need someone to come get me.’ Because this person chased her,” the student said.
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“We shouldn’t feel like we need to be walked to our house that’s 20 metres away from a friend’s house at night.”
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Reports of a suspicious man first appeared on a student Instagram account a few weeks ago.
“Most of the information is coming from MRU Chatter,” said student Dana Henderson. “We only had one email from Residence Services telling us there is someone around, but most of the information of where he is seen is coming from MRU Chatter, which is run by students.
“Basically, we’ve heard that he hasn’t grabbed anyone and he hasn’t talked to anyone, but he has been following people around and he’s been right up against people’s windows,” Henderson said.
Mount Royal University said in a statement that it takes these reports seriously and understands students’ concerns about safety on campus.
A university spokesperson confirms an email went out to students in residence Oct. 14 and another email is going out on Monday.
MRU security has increased patrols in areas around East and West Residence, is providing support and resources to residence students and staff and is working closely with Calgary Police Service, according to an MRU spokesperson.
New 360-degree, high-resolution cameras were installed across campus in 2019 as well as help stations called Code Blues. The new stations include cameras and two-way communication capabilities to connect directly to Security Services.
Security staff operate Safewalk to escort students at any time. That service has been used 20 times since the start of September.
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