UBC warns students after man attempts to break into residence lounge

The University of British Columbia has sent a warningemail to students who live on campus after a man attempted to breakin to a residence lounge where a female resident was studying.

The incident happened Friday at 2 a.m. outside the Marine DriveBuilding 5 lounge, where a male was seen pressing himself againstthe exterior window.

The man tried to enter the building but was unsuccessful, and theresident fled, said managing director of student housing andhospitality services Andrew Parr.

"She looked up from her studies, saw this individual doing whathe was doing, quickly packed up and left," he said in a phoneinterview Saturday.

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RCMP and campus security were called and arrived quickly, butwere unable to apprehend the man. The resident wasn't able toprovide a strong description of the suspect, Parr said.

"I think she was more focused on her own safety and obviouslywas a bit traumatized by the situation, and wanted to leave the areaas quickly as possible."

'Night prowler events'

It's unclear whether the incident is connected to a recent seriesof "night prowler events" where a man was seen lurking inbathrooms and bedrooms at UBC residences, Parr said.

Police have said the night prowler incidents may be connected tothe sexual assault of a 20-year-old woman on campus last week.

Thewoman was walking alone when a man suddenly came out of a woodedarea and grabbed her, violently shaking her with both arms andforcing her to the ground.

Following the attempted break-in early Friday morning, theuniversity felt it important to send a warning email on Friday tothe 9,500 students who live in campus residences, said Parr.

Safety precautions

The email was customized for different residences and reminded students to lock doors and accessible windows and to follow the procedure for reporting suspicious activity.

It also advised students to use new security measures including the UBC Blue Phone network that connects directly with campus security.

Parr said these types of incidents were occurring at a frequencythat was "completely unacceptable and frustrating to UBC."

"This kind of activity, we in the community and studentsshouldn't have to live with in today's society," he said.

"We aredoing everything that we can, and are working with the RCMP, toensure that this individual or these individuals are caught and,from my perspective, appropriately punished."

The university's RCMP detachment did not immediately respond to arequest for comment.

Criticism of UBC

UBC has faced criticism for its handling of alleged sexualassaults on campus and has begun work on a new sexual assaultpolicy, with a draft expected to be ready in June.

A former UBC student recently filed a human rights complaintalleging the school discriminated against her and other complainantsin its handling of reports of sexual assault and harassment.

Glynnis Kirchmeier said the university failed to act oncomplaints about a male PhD student over long periods of time,resulting in additional women becoming victims of sexual violence.