By Caitlin Marsch in Campus News, College Days on September 20, 2024
A former student was caught breaking and entering into Johnson Hall dorms
Residence Life Director Mark Nicklaus sent an email on the morning of Friday, Sept. 20 to all Johnson Hall residents, informing them of an incident involving a “suspicious person”.
An unknown individual was recorded on a resident’s personal security camera entering unlocked rooms in Johnson Hall in the early hours of the morning on Friday, around 5:45 a.m. Nicklaus attached the screenshot of the camera footage to the email, asking recipients to give any possible information to Residence Life staff.
It was not clear at that time whether it was a simple sleepwalking incident or intentional trespassing. He encouraged students to lock their doors at night and when away from their rooms.
Then, Friday at 1:04 p.m., Nicklaus sent a follow-up email, informing residents that he and Ripon Police collaborated to meet with the individual. Nicklaus shared that the individual is not presently enrolled at Ripon College, and was not “collaborating with any of our current students, even if they had acquaintances on campus as a former student”.
The former student was removed from campus and was indefinitely banned from the campus by the College and the Ripon Police.
Nicklaus expressed gratitude to the students who shared information that “made it possible for us to resolve this issue.” He also asked students to refrain from “sharing rumors, accusations and ideas on YikYak and other social media platforms” regarding the incident, as “we need to show support and respect to every one of our students who was involved in this difficult situation”.
The College Days attempted to contact Nicklaus for additional comments, but he was unavailable at that time. The College Days will follow up with additional information if and when it becomes available.
Image taken from resident’s personal security camera. Photo courtesy of Mark Nicklaus.