Ryerson campus security go to the first-floor accessible washroom of the Rogers Communications Centre Nov. 4, 2015. (Latifa Abdin/Ryersonian Staff)
By Latifa Abdin and Michael Chen
Campus security came rushing into the Rogers Communications Centre after a woman reported that there was a man lying down on the ground of the first-floor accessible bathroom, Wednesday afternoon.
Ryerson professor Marion Coomey went to use the bathroom but when she pushed the button to open the door, she saw a pair of legs.
The first-floor accessible bathroom where the man was found on the floor. The foldable cot is on the left. (Michael Chen/Ryersonian Staff)
“When the door was opening there were legs lying there and I could see that his undergarment was down around his ankle and his pants were down around his ankles,” said Coomey.
A student who was in the hallway at the time called 911, while a separate student ran to get Ryerson security.
“He stood up, the man, and he staggered out (of the bathroom),” Coomey said. “I said ‘Are you alright, we called 911,’ and he said ‘Oh thank you’ and then he left.”
The man left the building before Ryerson security arrived at the scene.
Filip Zikic, a first-year journalism student witnessed the man leave the building in the lobby.
“He was pale-looking, sweating profusely,” Zikic said. “He refused any help and he seemed like he was in a hurry to leave.”
Witnesses at the scene said that the man was in his early 30s. He was described as five-foot-eight with a skinny build, thin, blonde hair and wearing a white T-shirt.
This seems like it may be a regular occurrence, according to Coomey.
“(The bathroom) has a drop-down cot … and it was down when I went in and it looked to me like someone had been spending time in there because there were things on the floor.”
The cot propped up in the accessible washroom where the man was found Nov. 4, 2015. (Latifa Abdin/Ryersonian Staff)
She said a similar incident happened a few years ago.
“There was someone sleeping on the cot so I think sometimes people come in and they realize it’s a big bathroom, they can wash themselves up, they can lie down and have a rest,” said Coomey. “The door is locked and nobody will come in and bother them.”
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