Student raises questions about safety in Albertson’s Library

Recently an unknown man exposed himself to a female student while she was studying in Boise State’s Albertson’s Library. A man dressed in a white T-shirt and athletic shorts, sat next to the student. He then pulled his penis out of the leg of his shorts and began to masturbate in front of her. The victim, whom only wanted to be identified by her first name Megan, said the man was middle-aged, carried no backpack, and didn’t look like a student.

“I was scared for a long time to go back,” said Megan, a Boise State freshman majoring in social work. Megan lives off-campus with roommates in a North End apartment. She said studying at home is difficult because of the noise, so she and her roommates use the library often for studying.

Megan said at first she tried to pretend not to see him, but he kept staring at her as he was masturbating. “I just shut down, I was so scared…his face was so creepy.”

Megan was on the first floor of the library in the back of the building where the library staff can’t see. She walked away from the man to a student library employee she knew. The man followed her. Megan said she then went to the main library desk to speak with the evening staff supervisor. The man did not follow her; instead he left the 1^st floor presumably to hide on one of the other floors of the library.

The supervisor, John Streiff, called the campus police immediately. The officer took a report of the incident from Megan, and they looked over security camera footage, but were unable to get a good shot of the man. The man still hasn’t been caught.

Streiff, who’s worked over 10 years in BSU’s library, said these kinds of incidents are few. “If I could remember them, I could count them on one hand.” He said the library is a safe place, “there [are] a lot of good honest people that frequent the library.”

According to Janet Strong, the library Coordinator of User Services, the last report similar to Megan’s was filed in 2001. Around the same time, two security cameras were installed at the exits only. At present there are still only two security cameras recording activity at the front entrance/exit of the library. “We probably could use more surveillance [but] it would be very expensive,” Strong said.

Strong also said the library has talked to campus police, asking for a greater presence, but they don’t have the staffing to support it.

Strong said during finals week, when the library is open 24-hours, an additional Boise Police officer is hired as added security in the library.

Though reports of assault in the library are extremely rare, there are other issues that are disturbing to Megan. BSU’s library is considered a public library, just like the Boise Public Library on Capitol Boulevard. Anyone, whether they are students or not, can use the resources at the library, including the internet. Further, the library has no legal power to control what patrons are viewing on the Internet unless it is illegal material.

After Megan’s experience in the library, she began researching the issue. She spoke to fellow students and found many had seen library patrons accessing pornography on computers that should be for schoolwork. “[BSU Library] should make people get a library card in order to use the library and the Internet.”

Ginny Eggleston
News Writer

Related Posts:

1. Students take charge of the library
2. If you were in charge of the Albertsons Library what would you change?
3. CAMPUS TIMELY WARNING: Safety Announcement for BSU Students
4. CAMPUS TIMELY WARNING: Safety Announcement
5. Albertsons Library receives Basque library collection