A student recently posted on the OCU Facebook page about a catcalling incident that occurred near the basketball court next to the pavilion.
Lizzie Anderson, dance management sophomore, said she was walking from the library to her dorm at 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 17 and passed by the basketball court.
“I was just walking, and I was kind of looking at my phone, and I heard somebody say, ‘Hey, I just want to let you know you look really nice tonight.’ And I was wearing like sweatpants and a T-shirt. It wasn’t anything spectacular. And he was like, ‘why don’t you come over here and you can have a snack,’ or he said, ‘you can come with me and have a snack,’” Anderson said.
Anderson said there were around eight guys playing basketball, but only one catcalled her.
“I didn’t recognize any of them, which I thought was interesting cause I thought this was a private campus. But maybe they were students, and I just don’t know who they are,” Anderson said.
In an email, Kim Mizar, communications coordinator, said the court is primarily open to OCU students and their guests.
“The basketball court is open to all students, faculty and staff, as well as their guests,” Mizar said.
After the incident, Anderson called campus police to let them know what happened. She also posted about it on the OCU Facebook page.
“I posted on the OCU page that I felt uncomfortable walking back to my dorm at 9:30. I just posted it because I wanted other people to know that it happened and also in case anyone else was walking from the library at 9:30,” Anderson said.
Anderson said she’s happy campus police gives people options to feel safe on campus, but she wished someone had been patrolling around that time.
“It’s kind of difficult because they do have options. They say ‘never walk alone, you can call the police and they’ll escort you,’ but sometimes it’s hard when you’re walking from the library and you’re like, ‘oh I’m just walking to my dorm, I think I’ll be safe,’” Anderson said. “I know OCU patrols a lot around campus, but at this particular time it would’ve been really helpful to have someone right by Alvin’s so that I knew I felt safe. I feel like they could maybe have some more on-campus patrol, not just around campus,” Anderson said.
Bill Citty, interim director of campus police, wrote in an email he had not heard of this event or the phone call that took place.
“We do not have a report or show that we received a call from her on the incident,” Citty wrote.
Anderson said she hopes her situation can help raise awareness for women’s safety on campus and what to do in a catcalling situation.
“If somebody does call out at you, don’t acknowledge them at all,” Anderson said.
Anderson also said she believes the issue extends far beyond a simple catcalling incident.
“There’s obviously a different issue. It’s not the woman’s fault if she’s getting catcalled. It’s a much larger issue that has to be dealt with in different capacities, not just in college, but from upbringings,” Anderson said.
To report an incident, students can call the campus conduct hotline at 866-943-5787. For more information on campus policy regarding sexual harassment, students can visit www.okcu.edu/admin/hr/titleix/.
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