Dorm students confused with recent police presence

By Lizzie Kipp
Campus Editor
Email: thehutchinsoncollegian@gmail.com

On Nov. 11, a sense of confusion swept across the dorms at Hutchinson Community College when students were told not to leave the building due to safety concerns. Although the situation was reportedly resolved that night with no injuries, the lack of communication from HutchCC left many students feeling uneasy.

Brynn Hawbaker, a sophomore studying elementary education, had returned to the dorms when through her window, she saw the police pull into the dorms’ parking lot, lights flashing. 

According to Hawbaker, at least four police cars were present. The officers got out of their cars and began walking around the exterior of the building. 

“Not much really happened and after a while they got back in their cars and left,” Hawbaker said. “This is quite the common occurrence at the dorms so I wasn’t really thrown off by it. I was curious as to what they were looking for this time.” 

Hawbaker said she remained indoors but did not get any sort of notification from HutchCC about the possibility of a threat. She received updates on the situation through a group chat with her friends.

“The only reason I found out the situation was serious was because one of my friends went to high school with a cop and he had contacted her to ask what was going on,” she said.

Remy Marsteller, a freshman studying pre-surgical technology, was also left in the dark. She had no idea anything was happening until she arrived home in the middle of the ordeal. 

Upon getting off work that night, she received multiple texts from her roommate telling her to be careful, as police officers were searching for someone outside the dorms. When she arrived at the dorms, she was met by at least four police cars in the parking lot and a lobby full of fellow students.

“I stopped and talked to a couple people, but nobody knew what was happening,” she said. “When I got to my room one of my roommates said there was supposedly a person with a gun walking around outside the dorms.”

Marsteller said her roommate contacted a resident advisor, but they were simply told not to leave the building and to stay away from their windows. Like Hawbaker, she also said no one was formally notified about the possible threat near their living space.

“That is honestly really strange to me, considering we are the ones living in those buildings,” she said. “I know that something like that causes panic but I wish they would’ve told us for safety reasons, especially because I had been walking outside by myself right before I knew about it.”

The situation did not escalate further that night and was resolved without incident.

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