The UW-Madison Police Department has started stationing officers in UW - Madison’s Sellery Residence Hall in an attempt to combat safety issues that come with living in a construction zone. The officers have orders to stop students in the residence hall and tell them to go live somewhere else.
UWPD announced the plan in a tweet earlier this week. In the post, UWPD stated they would start by giving formal warnings but will move onto fines if necessary. The post has since been ratioed.
When asked for comment, a UWPD officer stated the reasoning behind the action is for student safety and wellbeing. When pressed about how it exactly improves student safety and wellbeing, the officer left abruptly, stating something about having to go yell at some jaywalkers.
We spoke to Sellery Resident Dan Jerous who told our reporting team that he had already been stopped and warned several times by officers. “I’ve just been going about my business, trying to get to class and such when officers just start shouting at me about how I’m being dangerous and disruptive to others,” Jerous said. “That’s rich, coming from them.”