For the past few weeks, many students living in URochester’s Wilder dorm hall have complained about strange noises emanating from the building’s floors, causing sleep disturbances for some.
These noises began nearly four weeks ago, according to building residents. Yet their origins are still undiscovered.
“I would lie down, ready to go to bed, and then I hear the most unholy noises,” junior Stephanie Kawoleski said, claiming the noises would disturb her sleep schedule.
Others described more violent occurrences. “The issues went beyond annoying noises,” junior Savannah Simpson, a resident of the second floor, shared. “The floor above us would vibrate, my bed literally would shake.”
According to building facilities, the noise’s origin was initially suspected to be faulty steam pipes, which they say could produce some of the sounds described by residents.
“Originally, we believed the problem to stem from a lack of adequate steam flow in Wilder’s pipe system,” Jason Fritz, Director of University Facilities, said in an interview. “However, after testing the system, we quickly ruled that out.”
After the Facilities’ investigation led nowhere, residents began their own investigation. They soon saw people bring animals into the building, adding to the cacophony of sounds.
“I saw a man with a crook lead three sheep into the building around three in the morning,” sophomore Serena Jordan, a fifth floor resident, said. “I literally couldn’t believe it. I thought I was dreaming — the building smelled like a petting zoo.”
With the situation within the building now escalating, residents decided to notify Public Safety after witnessing, what they say, was a parade of animals filing into the third floor: the floor occupied by the Delta Upsilon fraternity.
“I saw what looked like two of every animal,” sophomore Chrystel Rodigurez, a perturbed second floor resident, said. “A man was leading sheep, pigs, chickens, and deer into the elevator. There was hay everywhere.”
Despite the report, Public Safety did not respond, leading Rodigurez to call emergency services who, according to call logs, dispatched a patrol car to the scene around 4:15 a.m.
“After receiving a call reporting suspicious activity, officers were dispatched to 810 Wilson Blvd. on the University of Rochester’s campus,” Rochester Chief of Police, Ginger Rivers, said at a press conference.
Rivers explained that when officers arrived at the scene on the third floor, they reportedly saw numerous fraternity brothers engaging in unusual behavior.
“Officers saw approximately 15 members of Delta Upsilon (DU) assembling furniture into various structures, including organizing desks and wardrobes into pyramids reaching the ceiling,” Rivers stated. “Many of the persons involved were wearing cloaks and chanting.”
Rivers went on to add that an assortment of approximately 15 animals were found occupying all the bedrooms on the floor while the brothers slept together on cots in the living room.
Animal control was called to the scene and all the animals were secured unharmed. Many of the floor’s residents were taken in for questioning, according to the police chief.
When asked to shed light on the recent events, DU President and senior Felix Carpenter, who was not at the scene, offered some insight into the situation, saying that this behavior is a regular occurrence.
“Some of our secret rituals involve the use of animals,” he said. “Typically, about three times a semester we will move the furniture.”
When asked the reason for and origin of the rituals, Carpenter declined to comment.
Immediately following the incident, 12 individuals were arrested for disorderly conduct, according to City officials.
“As of now, all fraternal operations for the DU fraternity are suspended indefinitely,” the Dean of Student Life Aurora Dinkleberg said. “This type of behavior will not be tolerated … there are other students living in Wilder; it is disturbing to them to hear these noises, not to mention that none of the animals had properly filled emotional support documentation, therefore violating the animal policy.”
It is unclear whether the University will press charges.
