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NEWS
| SEPTEMBER 16, 2005
Safety
Signs point to confusion
Police say number of men in women’s
restroom is increasing and ask that facilities be re-signed.
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| Photo Illustration: Dominic Bracco |
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By Heather
Ann White
The Shorthorn staff
Campus restroom signs will be changing due to the increasing number
of men entering women’s restrooms, Police Chief Bob Hayes
said.
He said there have been six reported cases since Jan. 1 where men
have entered the women’s restroom and two cases where two
male nonstudents have entered the men’s restroom and have
been issued criminal trespass warnings.
“Some of the signs are small and not clear as to which restroom
they belong,” he said. “We want to standardize the signs
and also make it clear that you will be prosecuted for entering
the wrong restroom.”
Hayes said the number of bathroom incidents concern the UTA Police
Department, and though most incidents occur at the Central Library
and the Physical Education Building, they are recommending that
the Physical Plant re-sign all campus restrooms.
“It’s not going to happen overnight,” he said.
“It’s going to take time and money, but we want people
to feel safe in the restrooms and let people know that this is a
serious issue.”
Physical Plant Director Jeff Johnson said there have not been any
formal complaints about any campus restroom signs. Johnson said
the restroom signs cannot be changed or moved because of the Americans
with Disabilities Act, but the Physical Plant will be adding more
signs starting with the Central Library and Pickard Hall.
“We’re going to start making signs more visible to people
and maybe stop this problem,” he said.
The most recent incident of a man in the women’s restroom
occurred Sept. 8 on the sixth floor of Pickard Hall. A nursing secretary,
who did not want to be identified, was in the restroom late in the
evening when she heard someone quietly enter the restroom.
She said she was alarmed because the person didn’t lock the
stall door, which she said no woman would do. She came out of the
stall and saw a black male standing with the stall door open.
“I immediately went to the receptionist desk to call the police,”
she said. “The man followed me, apologized and said he had
the wrong restroom.”
The nursing secretary said it could have been an honest mistake,
but the restrooms are clearly marked, and the men’s restroom
is no more than three feet away. She said that the sign is not on
the door, but it is on the wall next to the door.
“We’re all being very cautious with all that’s
been going on in the restrooms,” she said. “A lot of
us work late, and we just want to be leery.”
Hayes said cases such as this could be a product of unclear or unreadable
signs. Police have taken pictures of the Central Library and other
campus restroom signs and are trying to brainstorm ideas to make
the signs readable and standardized, Hayes said.
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