The Simmons community received word October 7 that a suspicious individual from a September 20 community warning was the guest of an Arnold Hall resident and there was no danger to residents, in statements from Simmons Chief of Police and Director for Public Safety Paul Lombardo and area coordinator Marquet Houston. The email was mistakenly sent to students living in other residence halls such as Dix Hall.
In a statement to the Voice, Vice President for Student Engagement and Dean of Students Rae-Anne Butera emphasized the guest policy for students on the residence campus, calling it “critical to ensure a safe, welcoming, and inclusive community.” An October 10 email to students from Butera mentioned “a few reports of guests walking unsupervised in the residence halls.”
The 2023 Clery and Public Safety Report indicated eight reported instances of stalking in 2023, up from 2022’s seven. Four of these occurred on the residence campus. There were no incidents of burglary in 2023, down from six in the two previous years.
Residence halls are locked 24/7 according to the report, student entrance only granted to on-campus residents with a Simmons identification card. It further emphasizes the presence of each guest’s host escorting them around campus, and that escort policies will vary based on the Office of Residence Life’s schedule. The blue-light system, located throughout each campus, can additionally be utilized at any time. Further information is available in the student handbook.
Sophomores Dihella Ikapitte and Jasmine Stack even questioned the trustworthiness of Public Safety following the emails, especially after they weren’t initially sent to Arnold Hall residents.
“The campus is really open to the public…but how can someone without a key card get in [to the residence halls]?” asked Ikapitte, an Arnold resident.
The guest policy does not permit cohabitation, defined in the handbook as “a visitor, who adopts daily activities analogous to those of an assigned resident with respect to unlimited use of the room, using the amenities of the hall (such as a bathroom or laundry room) on a frequent basis, and any combination of these or similar activities.”
The Office of Residence Life and/or Public Safety reserve the right to remove guests who are in violation of the policy or “disturbing to the community.” The host may also jointly be held responsible if their guest commits a violation.
An investigation held the night of October 6 ended with the individual being located, and determining that the individual was “of no immediate danger to residents or students.”
Lombardo confirmed the locks for the gates surrounding Arnold Hall are working normally. In a statement to the Voice, he said officers are immediately dispatched to the scene when Public Safety is notified of a suspicious person.
“If the person is on campus with a dubious reason,” continued Lombardo’s statement, “officers will escort that person off campus and can (if the circumstances require) trespass the person from returning to campus.” Lombardo added that public safety’s dispatch center will attempt to gather information via surveillance cameras including a description or direction of travel.
“If the suspicious person is not located, our Community Resource Team detectives will follow-up on the case and try to determine the identity of that person,” stated Lombardo.
Several Arnold residents believe that Residence Life and Public Safety could have handled the situation better, saying it felt like the two offices weren’t doing much to rectify the situation besides reminding residents to lock their doors.
Marquet Houston, area coordinator for Arnold, Dix and South halls, did not gain permission from the Office of Residence Life to be interviewed for this piece in time for publication.
Please note the following campus safety resources:
Public Safety non-emergency line: 617-521-1112
Public Safety emergency line: 617-521-1111
Counseling Center: 617-521-2455
Office of Residence Life: 617-521-1096
Student Life: 617-521-2124
