Editor’s Note: Due to a glitch in the system, this article reads the author as Gianna Malgieri. The correct author is Victoria Schriver-McGivern.
On Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, a student reported to Rowan Police that a shirtless man was running around inside the Holly Pointe Dormitory.
The shirtless man was identified as a student who lived off campus, according to Rowan’s Daily Crime Log. The name of the shirtless student was left anonymous.
According to Rowan’s Daily Crime Log, the call was placed by an unidentified student at 5:27 a.m.
The call was reported inside Holly Pointe. The shirtless man was reported to be committing “disorderly conduct,” according to the official log.
“Dispatch received a call from one of the residents that someone was running up and down the hallways and banging on her door especially and trying to open it. So, she got scared [and] looked out and saw a male not wearing a shirt,” Reed Layton, the senior director of public safety at Rowan University, said.
The officers responded to the call, as many other students were frightened.
The individual running around Holly Pointe was located by officers on the sixth floor, G Pod, according to Layton.
“He [the shirtless student] was in the building, apparently with his female acquaintance, and for whatever reason he left the room and wanted to get back in and didn’t realize what room she was in and panicked and started banging on everybody’s door, yelling to get back in the room and that’s when everybody thought, you know, something else was going on,” Layton said.
There are no official reports saying that alcohol was involved.
Layton also mentioned there was another individual with the shirtless student. This individual, who remains unidentified, was not a Rowan student. This non-student was issued a trespassing warning, according to the Rowan Crime Log.
“When they located him, the person that was shirtless, there was another person with him. Another person who wasn’t supposed to be in the building at all so he was issued a trespassing warning,” Layton said.
Despite this being an innocent accident, students were still disturbed by the incident.
Lali Dasi is a freshman biomedical engineering student who lives in Holly Pointe. Dasi was directly affected by the shirtless man who ended up aggressively knocking on her and her roommate’s door.
“That night Holly was more active than usual. There’s always someone or some group being rowdy and loud, but that night there was some sort of obnoxiously loud gathering in almost every pod common area… When I went back to my room and prepared to go to bed, I heard a few people yelling outside, down the hall. Then the voices started to get louder and someone started banging on my door. Then the group left. I later learned that the person banging on my door was the shirtless man,” Dasi said.
Holly Pointe is often crowded, especially on weekends. The banging on Dasi’s door was completely unexpected.
“When he knocked on the door I was taken by surprise. He didn’t stay long enough for me to open it though,” Dasi said.
There was damage to Dasi and her roommate’s door but she is not sure if it was directly related to the disturbances of the shirtless man.
“I’m not 100% sure that the shirtless man’s bangs were what damaged the door, but before his unwelcome escapade, my door would automatically shut when opened slightly. Now my roommate and I have to force the door closed,” Dasi said.
The shirtless student was taken back to his off-campus residence, escorted by officers. To call the Dispatch Center dial 856-256-4911 for emergencies only. For non-emergencies and crime prevention, call 856-256-4922.
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