An unknown elderly man died in a Southeast area dorm yesterday afternoon, according to University of Wisconsin Police.
UWPD was called to the Witte Hall Lobby in response to a report that an 81-year-old man had collapsed on a couch and was unresponsive. The
UWPD received the call at approximately 4 p.m.. When they arrived on the scene, the lobby was shut down and students were not allowed to enter or pass through. The man exhibited no pulse and was not breathing.
Witte Hall Area Coordinator Jackie Scola-Bernstein immediately sent an e-mail to all students briefing them on the details of the incident. The lobby was shut down for about two-and-a-half hours.
“It freaked me out — I thought it was a student,” UW freshman and Witte resident Katie Lovro said. “We left at 4 p.m. to go to class and they didn’t let us through the main lobby, but they wouldn’t tell us why. As we walked past the main lobby windows, I looked through and saw police and paramedics and saw the man lying on the stretcher with ice all over.”
The man was not a resident of Witte Hall nor affiliated with the university, according to a press release from the UWPD.
The cause of death is unknown, but no foul play is suspected.
Despite the absence of foul play, the incident has some students shaken up and worried about the security of the dorm.
“It makes me worried that random people can just walk in [the dorm], and if students think it’s just a parent, they will key the elevator for them, allowing them to go anywhere in the building,” UW freshman and Witte resident Olivia Cipra said. “The front desk doesn’t do anything. They should at least question adults who clearly aren’t residents.”
UW sophomore and Witte resident Kevin Hanselmann echoed Cipra’s concerns, saying that it’s a major security issue with the dorms that anyone could just walk into the dorm.
“If someone wanted to, they could just walk in and light up the lobby,” Hanselmann said. “Doors should always be locked at any time of day and students should have to slide their ID and be sure to not let anyone in behind them.”
Rumors murmured through the hall that the man was homeless, but Lt. Kari Sasso of the UWPD confirmed the man was not homeless. Other students worried the man was a grandparent of a Witte resident, although no information has been released concerning that issue.
