Residents on the fifth floor of Taylor Hall’s north tower are outraged after learning their resident assistant was secretly videotaping them in the bathroom on their floor a little more than two weeks ago.

RA Robert Dunlap said he was using a video camera looking throught the peephole in the door of his room opposite the bathroom to catch residents tearing down a sign.

“I did it to catch vandals,” Dunlap said. “There was a real problem with vandalism and people were tearing down this sign.”

The sign warned residents that bringing females into the bathroom was against university policy and that anyone who violated the policy would be fined a minimum of $150, and that other actions also would be taken against them.

“I did it because I was concerned with who was tearing down the sign and about sneaking girls into the bathroom, which is against university regulations,” Dunlap said.

Fifth floor resident Andy Sierzega, a junior history major, said his privacy was clearly violated.

“He had a Sony camcorder mounted in front of the peephole of his door pointing directly toward the bathroom,” Sierzega said. “He kept the door open to the bathroom at all times so he could see what was going on in there. I feel like my civil liberties were infringed upon.”

Dunlap says he wasn’t specifically recording the actions in the bathroom, but the sign.

“I wasn’t videotaping the bathroom,” he said. “I was videotaping the sign, which just so happened to be on a very well-lit spot on the door leading into the showers.”

Sierzega said that shows Dunlap was clearly watching each residents’ every move within the bathroom and shower area.

“To know that while I’ve been walking in and out of the shower, someone was in a position videotaping me, is rather embarrassing and sickening,” he said. “The safe haven I thought Taylor Hall was is no longer what I thought. Everyone on the floor is really upset about it.”

Sierzega said Dunlap’s actions didn’t stop once residents found out he was secretly videotaping them.

“We saw the camera on the back of his door when he opened the door, and then he told everyone he had a camera and that he was going to catch who was tearing down the sign in the bathroom,” he said. “He lied about having the camera before and even put a light on the ceiling outside of his door to better light the area so he could videotape it better.

“When we found out he did have a camera, he said it was within his legal rights to use it the way he was,” Sierzega said.

After finding out about the camera, resident Alex White, a freshman computer management major, met with resident director Bill Kolacek.

“I went to the resident director about it and he didn’t do

anything,” White said. “He said (Dunlap) had the right to do it and the camera stayed up after I talked to (Kolacek).

“Then a few days later, (Kolacek) met with us and said it was perfectly legal but since it caused such a big problem, he’d have the RA take it down,” he said.

Sierzega said Dunlap removed the camera after secretly using it for nearly a week. Kolacek refused to comment in person or on the phone, saying he would only respond via e-mail. Kolacek then failed to return questions sent to him in an e-mail Wednesday afternoon.

“We talked to resident director Bill Kolacek about it and he said that, as far as he knew, it wasn’t a problem,” said resident Tim Hess, a junior psychology major. “I don’t know, but the whole thing sounds really fishy to me.”

Sierzega also said the destruction of signs, which started the whole ordeal, wasn’t even a major problem on the floor.

“I think one sign was torn down and that was it, so it wasn’t really a big problem on the floor,” he said. “I think the whole sign thing was blown out of proportion by (Dunlap) and it certainly shouldn’t have gone to the point where everyone on the floor is under secret surveillance in their private moments.

“That’s something I never saw in my housing manual,” Sierzega said. “I never agreed to that when I moved in here.”

Sierzega isn’t the only one on his floor that is upset.

“I’m (angry),” White said. “He had a camera up watching us and as far as I’m concerned, that’s illegal.”

“The thing that upsets me is that I’m walking in and out of the bathroom and shower with a towel on and I’m being videotaped,” Hess said. “What if I walk out and my towel falls off? Then I’m on camera naked.”

Dunlap says it doesn’t matter if his residents are upset or not.

“I don’t care if they are upset,” he said. “Frankly, if it was me and I knew I was being videotaped, I’d flash the camera. I spent four years in the Marines, so I have no qualms about privacy. I’m sure (residents) do, but that’s not what’s important.”

Dunlap said even if he did violate his residents’ privacy, it was something he had to do.

“I might have violated their privacy, but the video camera caught the individual tearing down the sign,” he said. “Let’s put it this way, some people might be upset, but no more signs have been torn down, pure and simple.”

Sierzega, White and Hess all say Dunlap didn’t catch anyone tearing down the sign and no one was punished.

“After the first sign was put up, he put up another sign with a note saying, `Try and rip this one down and see what happens,” Hess said. “So, of course, someone ripped it down. He said he caught the person on camera, but he really didn’t because that person was never punished.”

The residents said they don’t care whether Dunlap was using the camera to catch students tearing down signs, because no matter what, their privacy was violated.

“(Dunlap) said he was using the video camera to tape who was ripping down the sign, but for all I know, he could be some kind of pedophile,” Hess said. “That has to be a breach of my rights, doesn’t it?”

Mark Shaklee, associate director of student housing, isn’t sure.

“I was not aware of this matter and it very well might be

against some rules or regulations, but I wouldn’t know without looking into the matter,” Shaklee said. “If this kind of particular incident is included in the regulations, I’m not aware of it.

“I don’t know if there’s any written rule against this sort of thing,” he said. “It may not be appropriate, but I wouldn’t know without looking into the matter. And we’ll certainly look into it.”

Keith Kohanzo, a judicial affairs officer at Eastern, doesn’t know if using a hidden video camera in a residence hall is a punishable offense.

“I have no idea if something like that is against any rules or not because a case like this has never come up,” he said. “I’d like to give you an answer, but I really don’t know.

“I’m assuming the actions by the RA were well-intended, but that could be different and obviously could be misconstrued,” Kohanzo said. “I doubt there’s something specifically in writing against this sort of thing. It’s really something that needs to be taken with a common sense approach.”

Sierzega said he thinks the common sense approach is to

punish his RA for violating his privacy.

“I think he breached my privacy and the trust people on the floor have in their RA,” he said. “He violated our privacy and trust, and he should be severely reprimanded.”