Getting settled into a dorm may be an uneasy transition for many college students, but for some Ireland Hall residents, it has been especially unsettling having to worry about a stranger living there too.

Aaron Macke, director of Residence Life, said students may be using the term “living” too loosely.

“All I’m aware of is that there was a person, and it’s a single person, who appears to have been violating our visitation,” Macke said.

Macke confirmed that the individual was a male friend of an Ireland resident.

Freshman and Ireland Hall resident John Mayer said he was concerned about the incident.

“Since it was such a private thing and no one knew that (the individual) didn’t live there, and they didn’t go over that with the administration … it causes some concern because you don’t know who that guy is,” Mayer said.

The guest visitation policy in the Resident Student Handbook states, “not more than two guests may stay up to three consecutive nights, or a total of 10 days per semester.”

Macke said the seriousness of the violation in Ireland Hall was unclear.

“What we don’t know is kind of the extent of which they stayed overnight,” Macke said. “Or was it one of those things where this individual was there enough that it gave the perception that they … were living there.”

Macke also said Residence Life does not know exactly where the individual was sleeping.

“We don’t know if he was staying there, we don’t know if he was jumping from room to room,” he said.

Macke also said Residence Life caught the policy violator as soon as the situation was brought to its attention.

“We were made aware that there might be someone in Ireland that shouldn’t be,” Macke said. “We were asked to keep an eye out. We did, and we found him.”

Freshman Christian Roemhildt, another Ireland Hall resident, said many students didn’t talk about the situation when it was occurring.

“A lot of people knew, but nobody really said anything,” Roemhildt said. “Everybody knew who he was and he was well-liked, but unfortunately, he did break the policy. As a result, he couldn’t live here anymore.”

Macke said one way Residence Life can prevent incidents like this from happening again is to ensure that night access workers check students in as they enter the residence halls and follow the policies.

“Night access serves a particular role, but we know that it’s not foolproof,” Macke said.

He said Residence Life will not make any changes to the policy. Night Access employees were instructed to not be lenient, no matter how familiar a resident or guest may be.

Baihly Warfield can be reached at warf3860@stthomas.edu.