Villagegate: the real stow ,
by Carol Fletcher and Petr Cizek lmprint staff In the dead of nlght of December 21st,22nd and 23rd. 1984, I UW securlty entered and searched rooms in Village One and Village Two A team of two securlty officers confiscated anythlng they belleved to be illegal Items which were taken from rooms Included governinent slgns of varlous types, street ,lgns, beer publicity slgns, and marijuana plants The search occurred during campus securtty's mldnight 3hifts Two security officers used a truck to cart away the \ alleged stolen merchandise or contraband Only after they had completed their search of Village Two did security contact D r Ronald Eydt. Warden of the residences ' Security Informed D r Eydt that a starch had been undertaken I in Vlllage Two and requested his approval t o search Village 'One D r Eydt agreed t o this request A search was subsequently undertaken in Village One In both vlllages most men's floors were searched, but only a small number of women's floors were searched Students were unaware that any search and sekzure was t o occur over the holidays The residence Dons the Duty Attendants, other Security Officers, the Director of Security A1 Romenco, d W Secretary in charge of securlty Jack Brown, ahd UW president D r Doug Wright all denied havmg prior knowledge of the s e a r ~ h Imprint received a n exclusive story regarding the Vlllage , searches from a coniidentlal source who 1s a security officer o n campus For reasons of confidentlallty. the officer's name cannot be revealed The officer told lmprint that three security officers on#the aforementioned shifts "took it upon themselves t o search the Villages in order t o retrieve stolen signs" he other memberrof the security flOrcejokingly call this trio the "SWAT" team. These three officers were described by thls security officer as "trouble-makers and they should never have worked together in the first place". One of the officers was the 1 Acting Supervisor. while the other two conducted the search. imprint has been informed that there is now arift at security. One half of the men justify the search, while the other half believe that it should never have happened.
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Village I resrdent Phrl Py@rpaints lo ~he-t.mprvs w e on his bookshe// where he used ro have a w e e r sign,"Horn': to whrch he added a '3 " t o make "Horny': Imprint photos by J.D.Bonser
previous conversations with people involved, that security acted entlrely upon t h e ~ rown cogmzance", Mr. Allison said "There are problems o n this campus with security that admmistratlon has known about for a long time. As soon a s I heard about this incident 1 knew Al Romenco had
Security fbrce with theft" -Allison This type of mass search has nbver before occurred in the :i. Village residences. In the past, whenever Security believed that students had stolen $gns in their residence rooms. they asked Dr. Eydt to request the Villagers t o return theitems voluntarily. said that this inethod had been successful. ' Dr.Dr.Eydt Eydt also told Imprint that "traditionally, security has acted very sensitively ... this is very different from anything that: has happened before. It sounds out ofcharatter for seiurity t o , act this way". After emerging from a one hour interview with University . .Ombudsman Dean Nadon concerning the s e a k h , a clearly : upset and confused Dr. Eydt said, "this sort of thing is terribly upsetting . . . In the late sixties and early seventieswhen yo" smelled marijuana in every third room, security didn't bothqr us at all. Only twice did the RCMParrest people for possession of illicit drugs." Dr. Eydt plans t o form a special committee with the Village Council. the Tutors, and the Dons to address the situation. In conversation with Imprint Dr. Wright said "What happened was totally legal". He referred to the terms of the residence agreement which allows the rooms t o be searched without a warrant or without informing the occupants. Dr. Wright said that "The search was more than simply a souvenir hunt. The students demonstrated a n element of irresponsibility as was evident in the quantity of stolen merchandise removed from the rooms." He furthermore said that "Two wrongs don't make a right.. . I must make it clear that I have a sense of regret that the search was ever undertaken" He could not a5suG Imprint that this type of Learch would never happen again Federation President Totil All~sonhas been in contact with I ) D r Wright with respect t o the ~ e a r c h I Mr Alhson said 'I a m appalled by theaction of security 1a m confident that there are enough good people in the admin~stratlonthat I think there will be a lull and proper inquiry" He went on to say "Security had acted in a n incredibly 2irrespons~blemanner and the= had better be change5 made concerning the waq in which security 1s run changes made in the relationship between the Village and the Villagers" Mr Allison also sard "1 would have to conclude. bdsed on my 1
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acted on his own". When Mr. Allison was asked what consolation he could give t o the Villagers who had legitimate items taken by security, he said "I hope they are legally able to charge our security force with theft". Al Romenco's immediate reaction to Tom Allison's accusations was a chuckle. However he did Aot make a statement about the comments of the Federation President. Mr. R o m n c o did tell imprint that he had just returned from holidays and had been only r e ~ e n t l yinformed of the search of the residences. Mr. Romenco said that' "government property will be returned to the respective cities or ministries". He said that "A corporation has a right to the premises that they own, and in that regard the search was totally legal". Mr. Romenco denied issuing any order t o search the residences. Jack Brown, Secretary of the university and Mr. Romenco's immediate supervisor said he had no information concerning the search and refused to make any comments o r "answer any hypothetical questions". An investigation is being undertaken by Dean Nadon, U W Ombudsman, on behalf of the Villagers who have lodged complaints. He would not comment on the inquiry for he felt it might impede the case. Phil Pyett of Village One, East 2 had his room searched and a green Ministrq of Transportation and Communication sign removed from hicroom. He said that the sign was given to him lcgitimately and that h e can probe his rightful possession. Mr. Pyett first realixd that the sign was missing after he returned from holidays. The Don of Phil Pyett's floor was not aware of the search until after Mr. Pyett had contactcd S e c u ~ t to y report the missing sign. Security told Mr. Pyett that the residences has been searched and anything assumed to be stolen material was confiscated. . Security then gave Mr. Pyett a long lecture about theft. When Mr. Pyett asked to have his sign returned. security insisted that he produce proof of the legitimacy of the sign. Mr. Pyett said t o lmprint "I'm extremely mad that they have the right t o enter a room. and furthermore take my stuff without any notice o r warning I don't remember slgning a
document allowtng securlty t o enter my room Imprint accompanied VillagerRob Dolmage t o securlty o n Tuesday. January 8th. The purpose of his v ~ s l was t t o retrieve a "lcgitimate" u g n that was taken by Securlty durlngthe search An irate man at the security desk told Mr Dolmage that he "couldn't release any of the property" When the student then asked what he hfid t o d o t o get h ~ sign s back. the man then replied "I don't care what you d o I'mjust tell~ngyou what 1 was told". When Mr Dolmage asked hlm "Are you refusing t o return my personal property"". the securlty representatwe retorted "I'm not refusmg you anythlng Don't put words In my mouth" Another Villager. Adam Chamberlain. in conversation with Attorney General Roy McMurtry regarding the searches was told that "It seems t o me t o have probably been a reasonable breach of search and seizure laws". Mr Chamberlain then explained t o Mr. McMurtry that in inquiry had been undertaken by the university ombudsman. The residence Dons did not want their names printed because of the nature of their jobs. One Don said "The Dons d o not agree with the manner in which the search was undertaken.-Dr Eydt did not even give his permission to search Village Two". Another Don said "It is pretty wierd that this has happened. b e t a u k they told us during orientation that we would be present if a search of a room sholtld take place. Anoth'er Don informed lmprint of a woman who was asleep when s e h r i t y attempted to enter her room. Lisa Bromaroffof Village Two had the chain on the door and would not let the security officers enter even after they had identified themselves. Ms. Bromaroff had informed the V2 office that she would be staying in the Village during that time. Ms. Bromaroff.said "I was bery scared at first and I didn't let them in my room. 1 rented this room. It should be illegal tor them t o d o this".