A DePauw University student smashed through a window on the west side of Senior Hall around 1:30 a.m. on Friday, April 11, leaving shards of glass scattered across the threshold.
DePauw University Public Safety responded to a call about a broken window and a possible break-in at Senior Hall, an upperclassmen residence hall that can house approximately 40 students.
"I was watching some shows on my laptop, and I heard like a crashing sound," said the student who called Public Safety at approximately 1:21 a.m. The student wished to remain anonymous for safety.
The student then saw a man running up the staircase from the west side door.
"It was real cute-broken glass and what not," the student said. "Apparently he forgot to cover up his hand too, which is totally genius, because he was bleeding all over."
Director of Public Safety, Angela Nally, was able to confirm the events.
"A student who wanted to visit another student who lives at Senior Hall broke the glass to gain entry," Nally said in an email. "That student was quickly identified and will be referred to community standards for the behavior. We have requested that Facilities address the broken glass."
Nally said that alcohol was involved.
At 2:04 a.m., Amanda Halfacre, Campus Living and Community Development's area coordinator for upperclass areas, declined to comment about the specifics.
"I can't really talk about anything specific that would have happened on campus, just because individuals are involved," Halfacre said.
Instead, Halfacre offered general comments about what students should do if they believe someone has broken into their residence hall.
The first thing students should do is call Public Safety. She added that students can also call 911.
"The Greencastle 911 works really closely with DePauw campus police," Halfacre said. "So if it's something on campus, they'll send a DePauw officer so you can always call Public Safety or 911."
Halfacre said that visible break-ins on campus tend to be rare, but that unlawful entiry into unlocked houses or apartments are more common. She stressed the importance of keeping doors locked and being aware of your surroundings, taking note if something is out of place.
"Students can also call Campus Living and Community Development if they have questions about, 'Maybe Facilities was here. I'm not sure,'' Halfacre said. "They can always call us, and we can check on that information for them and help them figure out if somebody was in their house because they were supposed to be there or something else happened."
Halfacre stressed calling even if the student does not believe that it directly involves them.
"I don't think dispatch has ever complained about getting too many phone calls," Halfacre said. "So if people see things that are out of place, they'd rather get 20 calls about a broken window as opposed to no calls, and then two days later they're like, 'what happened?'"
Nally also offered the following reminder for students.
-Leann Burke contributed to this article.