It took more than an hour for New York University security to arrive when two Lafayette residents reported that a stranger in their room harassed them and refused to leave. This is the second time the intruder has been sneaked into the dormitory by residents of the same dormitory.

On Wednesday, November 3, a break-in occurred in a room in Lafayette Hall. After the incident was reported to the dormitory management department, it took more than an hour for the security to arrive and take the intruder away. (Staff photo by Alex Tran)

Written by Arnav Binaykia and Kristian Burt November 12, 2021

Content warning: This article contains a description of sexual harassment. 

On November 3, an outsider unrelated to New York University entered Lafayette Hall without authorization and harassed two residents in their room. After reporting the incident to the dormitory management department, security personnel did not arrive within more than an hour. During this period, the intruders refused to leave, made sexually suggestive comments and lay on one of their beds.

According to a senior Lafayette staff member, the intruders were previously barred from entering the building because the same Lafayette resident who helped them enter the building two years ago sneaked them into the building last week.

At 8:30 pm on November 3, CAS sophomore Mariana Trimble and junior Maya Orey shared a suite in Lafayette Hall. While they were cooking dinner, a girl knocked on their front door.

[Read more:'Can I lie in bed with you? ': How did a stranger enter my dorm]

"We opened it, and the girl was there asking for feminine hygiene products and whether she could use our bathroom," Ole told WSN. "Assuming she lives in the lobby and is a student of New York University, we let her in and let her use the bathroom."

Trimble and Orey wanted to be good neighbors, but they soon began to suspect that the people in the dormitory were not New York University students at all. Both noticed that the detailed information provided by the intruder did not add up-she claimed to be a student of Tisch and had trouble with her roommate, but did not seem to know that Tisch was an art school.

This situation is really strange. I'm not sure if she goes to New York University. "

— Maya Orey, SMS to Mariana Trimble on November 3

Trimble and Orey said they had cooked the intruder a meal and tried to comfort her. Trimble then left the living room for a few minutes, leaving Orey alone with the stranger. At this time, the girl began to make sexually suggestive comments.

"She started to comment on my appearance and asked about my sexual orientation, and then asked if I would like to lie in bed with her," Ore said. "It definitely makes me nervous. I texted Mariana,'This situation is really weird. I'm not sure if she goes to New York University.'"

The intruder then left the room, saying that she wanted to "solve her roommate's problem." Trimble and Orey called their neighbors Gabriel Murjani and Ryan Chan into their room because they felt unsafe about the possibility of the intruder returning.

Some time later, after Murjani and Chen arrived, she did come back. She continued to make comments that made Trimble and Orey uncomfortable, becoming aggressive towards the third neighbor, who asked her to leave the room and fell asleep in one of their beds.

Chen suspected that the intruder passed out because she was drunk.

"She must have taken drugs," Chen said. "I don't know what it looks like, but she really doesn't like it. She brought two cigarettes with her when she was in the room."

At about 10 pm, Trimble, Orey, and their neighbors began contacting their residential assistants and the NYU campus security officer on duty in Lafayette Hall. Security personnel who are aware of an intruder in the building have notified the incident response team of the New York University Department of Housing.

WSN learned that when the intruder was first seen sneaking into the dormitory, New York University also called the New York City Police Department. Neither the NYU security department nor the police succeeded in finding the intruder, and it seemed that Trimble and Orey had ended their search when they contacted the campus security department.

"When the New York Police Department arrived, they could not find the intruder," New York University spokesperson Shonna Keogan wrote to WSN. "The two [campus security officials] who appeared as backups visited the building and were unable to determine her location in the building."

Although some RAs in the dormitory responded earlier, it took more than an hour for a special response team from New York University to arrive.

In an email obtained by WSN, a senior Lafayette staff member told Trimble that the campus security department will take longer than usual to arrive because they are busy responding to other incidents around the campus. The staff member did not specify which incidents they were referring to.

"They had to get rid of their existing worries before they could go to Lafayette," the staff member wrote. "I am worried that this is a matter of competition priority and distance."

Murjani said he asked the security who the intruder was and how she entered the building.

"The security said she didn't belong to New York University at all," Muljani said. "He said he tried to prevent her from entering, but because he couldn't leave his position or use material means, he couldn't do anything about it."

They know Lafayette better because they have been here before. "

— Lafayette Hall staff, email Maya Orey and Mariana Trimble

Keogan said that CCTV footage showed an unidentified Lafayette resident sneaking through the security check in the lobby. Senior Lafayette staff mentioned in the email that the same Lafayette resident smuggled the same person into the dormitory two years ago, and they have been banned from entering the building.

"The reason they know Lafayette better is because they have been here before and may have spent some time with Lafayette residents on Wednesday, then wandered the lobby and finally found your room," the Lafayette staff member Said in an email to Trimble and Orey. "As we speak, I am working closely with the leadership and confronting the residents of Lafayette."

A Lafayette administrator later told Olei that the intruder "escaped" after campus security escorted her to Lafayette Hall.

Chen believes that dormitories should have more security guards to help students faster, especially in buildings like Lafayette that are disconnected from the center of the New York University campus.

"When the intruder finally entered and started to check all the dormitories, the security at the front door was powerless," Chen said. "A second security officer who can actually walk around would be more helpful." 

Keogan said the infiltrator has been declared unwelcome and has instructed campus security to be vigilant.

Mariana Trimble is a contributor to the WSN opinion page. She wrote her description of the incident in another article and did not review this article before publishing.

Contact Arnav Binaykia [email protected] and Kristian Burt [email protected]

Arnav Binaykia studied journalism and data science at New York University. He likes rainy days, reading history and consecutive commas. Email him [email protected],...

Jake is a senior at Tisch, studying film and TV, and has been working at WSN since the spring of 2020. He is a native of Arizona, this is his personality...

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