Here is a scary story for you. I trust you will change the names and locations to protect the innocent (mainly ME) if you ever use this story.

When I started working as the Stack Supervisor at the library in 1978, I was warned to be on the alert for the Foot Freak who lurked on the third floor and accosted young female students. My dept. head was especially careful to describe this guy's activities - in great detail (maybe he was jealous?!). Anyway, I passed along the warning to my student assistants, told them how to report incidents, etc.

Time went by - maybe months, maybe years (it was a LONG time ago!). One morning the desk supervisor was describing the events of the night before. The Foot Freak had been caught and removed by the campus police! She also said that it was unlikely that he would be incarcerated for very long (if at all), and that we should expect him to return to the scene of his crimes. I asked her if she could give me a description that I might pass along to my students who were working in the stacks. No, she said, she could not do that. He was a well-known personality in the community and it would embarrass him for that information to be circulated!

I complained to the dept. head . For the safety of the students who he always insisted that we warn about this guy, if we weren't going to tell the students at least tell the staff so we might be alert for him being in the building. No, he said, if the desk supervisor won't tell, I won't insist. The wimp would not overrule the dragon on this one ... or on anything else, but that is another story.

That scared the willies out of me! I thought our responsibilities to the protection our student workers outweighed any embarrassment this pervert might feel at being caught at his "hobby" in a *public* building, but I couldn't get anyone to agree with me. I went to work for a different department soon thereafter. Maybe our Foot Freak is still up there. I'm glad I don't need to know anymore.