By Remy Wang
On the morning of Sunday, April 17, there was a reported sexual assault in Earle Hall, which led to an arrest. The suspect was a guest at Adelphi and is not a student. The Department of Public Safety, Garden City Police Department and Nassau County Special Victims and Crime Scene unit were called to Earle Hall. These departments are still working together to investigate the incident. They are also focused on supporting the affected individual and protecting Adelphi’s campus community. An email reporting the sexual assault and arrest was sent out to the entire campus on Easter Sunday, April 17.
“The health and safety of our students and entire campus community is Adelphi University’s foremost priority. We continue to cooperate with the ongoing police investigation. Beyond the communications sent out to our community yesterday, we cannot comment any further at this time and refer questions to the police,” said Todd Wilson, senior director of media and public relations at Adelphi. Because this case is under investigation, no names of people involved have been released. Details about the incident are still under investigation.
“We encourage students to be vigilant and if there is anything you see happening that might be a danger to you or others, please call public safety on any campus phone by dialing 5 (or 516-877-3500 from a cell phone). We also encourage everyone on campus to review safety tips shared on the Adelphi web,” said Wilson.
Kaleb Gailyard, a sophomore at Adelphi, said of the April 17 incident, “I’m a hall attendant. I came back at around 4:05, 4:10 a.m. I was walking to [my] room and I guess the room it happened in, I passed that room. Some guy was passed out, low-key passed out in a trash can, and he said, ‘hi’ to me. And then I went to my room and then an hour and a half went by. I went out and there’s cops.”
Although Gailyard was at Earle Hall when the police were present, he was not able to identify anyone involved in the reported sexual assault or arrest.
“I was home when it happened, but I got the email and my parents were really worried,” said senior Lena Maffei. There are safety tips on Adelphi’s website for concerned students and faculty.Visit https://www.adelphi.edu/safety-transportation/resources/safety-tips/ for more information on how to stay safe on campus.
For anyone concerned about this event or is otherwise affected, there are resources available. Adelphi’s Student Counseling Center provides students with counseling and crisis intervention services. Their email is scc@adelphi.edu. For faculty, Adelphi has the Employee Assistance Program. The program provides faculty and staff with no-cost telehealth counseling through Cigna regardless of medical plan. The phone number is 877-622-4327 and the website is myCigna.com. There is an Interfaith Center for students and faculty seeking spiritual guidance and support. Their email is auinterfaith@adelphi.edu and their phone number is 516-877-3113.
There is also the Office of Community Concerns and Resolutions. The office works with all members of Adelphi’s community to facilitate a comprehensive review and response to any University concerns. Their email is occr@adelphi.edu and their phone number is 516-877-6864.