Break-ins late spring at the Memorial Gym pool have prompted campus officials to put up No Trespassing signs on the doors of the facility.
“We have had the [trespassing] problem going back years,” John Steve Smith, interim chair of the department of exercise science, physical education and wellness, said. “Last semester was worse than before. We had windows broken, doors kicked in.”
Gay Shepherd, chief of campus police, said trespassing in the pool has happened “more than once.”
“The deal about that type of area, you know we want to make it clear that you are not supposed to be there because of the hazards involved,” Shepherd said. “There is no lifeguard on duty. We don’t want to go in there and have to fish someone out that drowned.”
Some students were concerned the No Trespassing signs would mean they would have less access to the building. Smith said that is not the case.
“The trespassing signs are for the swimming pool,” Smith said. “It is not to lock any students out. The pool has not been open swim since the Fitness Center was built.”
Students who want to use the facilities in the building have to schedule “free play” time. Classes and intramurals get priority over free play.
The building’s primary purpose is academics.
“The signs are to cover the liability to the university and hopefully discourage some people from being where they are not supposed to,” Smith said.
There has not been another issue with trespassing or break-ins in the Memorial Gym pool since the signs were put up.
For more information about campus crime events, visit tntech.edu/police/campuscrime.
For an up-to-date crime map that pinpoints crime on campus, visit tntechoracle.com.
