Aggressive Squirrels To Be Removed From Campus

Charlotte Stack ’29

Staff Writer

This past Monday, a school-wide email was sent out announcing to students and faculty that certain campus squirrels would be “removed from the premises,” should there be any report of a squirrel harassing students. “We want to keep Trinity safe,” the email read, “and if relocating squirrels is how we do it, so be it.” The message urged anyone who had had a negative experience with one of these mammals to contact facilities immediately. 

This news sparked outrage with many Trinity students who took to Yik Yak, an anonymous posting forum for colleges. They expressed their anger, stating: “These sweet animals did nothing wrong, except existing in a space overtaken by humans. To ‘relocate’ them would be an act of cruelty.” Many agreed with this statement, with one commenting “How can [Dan Lugo] allow this? Is this really his vision for Trinity?” Supporters of these remarks took to commenting “#handsoffoursquirrels” on the Trinity College Instagram page.

However, some Trinity students and faculty support the new initiative to keep campus safer. One senior wishing to stay anonymous told the Tripod, “I’m glad they’re doing something about those squirrels. I don’t feel safe walking alone at night, because you never know when one will come out and ambush you. When I’m walking back from Pike on a Friday night, I shouldn’t have to worry about a small rodent attacking me. It’s just not okay.” A freshman student agreed with this sentiment, admitting: “I almost didn’t come to Trinity because of the squirrels. It seemed like they were everywhere on admitted students day, and I could not imagine myself actually feeling secure on a campus that allowed its rodents to just roam about like that.”

The Tripod was able to speak with a sophomore who was a victim of a squirrel attack. Choosing anonymity, the student recounted the traumatic experience and expressed relief with the College’s new protocol. When asked about the event that led her to filing a report with facilities, the student disclosed: “I was just taking a walk, on a weekday around 3 p.m. and as I passed by the gym, I heard a sort of rustling sound in the bushes. I didn’t really think anything of it, until I heard a ‘squeak’ and something jumped out at me! This squirrel and I locked eyes, and then it just, like, started running towards me! I was actually so freaked out because I thought that squirrels were, like, supposed to be scared of humans, or something, but this one wanted to scare me! It wasn’t until I got to the library that it finally backed off.” The student also acknowledged  that filing the report was easy, and Facilities was very sympathetic to her anguish. 

“All it really took was a simple email,” she claimed, “ And they responded quickly that the situation had been taken care of. How they found the guilty squirrel is beyond me, but that’s not my problem.” To close, she told the Tripod that she was happy to hear that Trinity is doing something about the squirrels, and she hopes that other schools follow suit, commenting, “No one is safe when the squirrels run loose.”

This is a developing story.