Police officers are investigating suspicious holes found in the walls of a second residence hall at the University of Colorado at Boulder, according to Deb Coffin, housing director. The cause of the holes has not been determined, but CU police are investigating the reported damage as a possible incident of tampering.
The holes were found on two floors in Cheyenne Arapaho Hall during routine safety inspections by housekeepers who have been trained, under new housing procedures, to look for irregularities in walls near bathrooms. Two holes were found in the housekeeping closet wall adjacent to a women's bathroom and one hole was found in a housekeeping closet wall adjacent to a men's bathroom.Ìý
Cheyenne Arapaho Hall currently houses 421 students, including 229 men and 192 women.
A police investigation of a "peeping tom" incident in Farrand Hall resulted in the arrest in April of a contractual electrician working on hall renovation. As a result of the Farrand Hall investigation, the Housing Department established new policies and procedures covering construction and renovation in occupied residence halls. In addition, the Housing Department instituted more frequent inspections of all residence hall bathroom walls, Coffin said.
Cheyenne Arapaho Hall has not undergone major construction or renovation in recent months, Coffin said. Bathroom walls in all residence halls were inspected during the Farrand Hall investigation; no suspicious holes were found at that time.Ìý
Housekeepers in Cheyenne Arapaho Hall reported the irregularities on Friday, Aug. 30, by electronic mail to a supervisor who was on vacation until Tuesday, Sept. 3. In the meantime, housekeepers ordered the holes to be patched immediately as a security precaution. When the housekeeping supervisor returned, the walls were inspected and the CU Police Department was notified.
Since the incident was reported, locks on the hall's housekeeping closets have been refitted with special security card mechanisms that can track access to the closets. The new locks provide detailed information regarding the entering individual, time and date of room access. The Housing Department is considering the use of other security measures to continue enhancing student privacy and safety.
All hall residents on the Boulder campus have been notified of the investigation and offered information on campus resources, such as victim's assistance, the counseling center and the dean of students. Students also have been provided information on how to report suspicious behavior or wall tampering.
Coffin said, "These incidents underscore the importance of our decision to invest considerable resources in revising policies and strengthening inspections in our residence halls."