After a brief drop during the pandemic when El Camino College was closed, reports of stalking targeting female students on campus are rising again.

The crime log from El Camino College Police Department recorded three incidents of stalking on campus so far in 2024.

In 2019, there were 13 on-campus stalking Violence Against Women offenses reported, as well as five in 2020 and three in 2021, according to the 2022 El Camino Clery Crime Statistics.

There were 10 documented on-campus stalking Violence Against Women offenses in 2022.

The offenses highlight the crucial role of the Violence Against Women’s Act and the Clery Act on student protection.

These are laws that work to prevent violence and ensure safety on college campuses.

“About [10] years ago, the Clery Act was amended because of VAWA requiring colleges to disclose sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking statistics as part of their annual security report,” Clery Act Compliance Coordinator Nina Wong said.

Stalking is the crime of repeatedly following or harassing another person and making a credible threat to that person’s safety, or the safety of his or her immediate family, according to California laws.

“If a person is stalking somebody with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear, that now becomes a crime in the state of California and we, campus police, can arrest that person for that crime and charge them for that,” El Camino Police Chief Michael Trevis said.

At El Camino, campus police and the Office of Title IX, Diversity, and Inclusion handle reports of stalking alongside each other.

“We want to make sure students know their options and rights as they relate to filing a complaint against a person,” El Camino Director of Title IX, Diversity, and Inclusion Jaynie Ishikawa said.

The crime must occur on campus, on public property nearby or on non-campus properties to be counted toward the Clery Act.

“At least one instance has to be physically in any of our Clery geography locations,” Wong said.

Ishikawa said stalking can take multiple forms.

“There’s stalking that happens from someone that you don’t know and there’s also stalking that can originate from having had a previous social interaction with someone,” Ishikawa said.

The Union requested information on specific stalking instances on campus, but details were not provided.

“We want to maintain as much privacy as possible,” Ishikawa said. “My office doesn’t disclose any personal or identifiable information, anything that comes through. We want to maintain as much privacy as possible.”

At El Camino, there are reports circulating of men, some potentially posing as El Camino students, following women to their cars and classes.

Bryan Sanchez, 19, a business administration major, noticed multiple stalking incidents occurring around the Humanities building.

In the fall 2023 semester, Sanchez, who usually hangs out at the blue tables outside the Humanities Building with his friends, began observing a man approaching women sitting by themselves or in duos.

“Sometimes there would be this particular guy who would get up and walk to other benches that [women] were at,” Sanchez said. “You could visibly tell [the student] wasn’t showing any signs of trying to have a conversation, but the guy kept being persistent; and when she got up to leave, he followed her.”

After seeing three similar occurrences happen, Sanchez called campus security.

Recently, he has seen another man, walking around without a backpack, approaching students in the same manner by the Humanities Building.

Krystal Suarez, 20, who is studying animal science, has been approached in two separate scenarios by two different men.

In spring 2022, Suarez was sitting at the benches by the Math, Business and Allied Health Building when a short man with blonde hair and baggy clothing approached her and complimented her appearance.

“There was always this guy that would [walk] past me and say, ‘I like your hair.’ It just made me really uncomfortable,” Suarez said.

On Valentine’s Day of this year, Suarez claimed a white man with dyed blue tips of his hair was lingering behind the Bookstore, staring at her while she waited for her boyfriend to pick her up.

“This guy was just lingering in the corner right here [by the Bookstore] staring at me,” Suarez said. “He sat next to me, trying to talk to me, but I was doing my work.”

Suarez said he confided in her that he was lonely and persistently asked her if she wanted to be his valentine before he eventually walked away, leaving Suarez “very uncomfortable.”

History major Rosalinda Argueta, 22, hasn’t experienced a stalking incident but knows of peers who have.

“Thankfully, I haven’t been stalked; but in my class, there was a [woman] who shared that she had an incident with stalking that she reported to Title IX,” Argueta said.

Many resources are provided to protect students in emergency cases.

“If we determine that an emergency exists that’s an ongoing threat pursuant to the Clery Act definition of crimes then we would put out a Nixle alert or some kind of timely warning,” Trevis said.

Students are encouraged to stay aware of their surroundings and use indoor emergency phones or the outdoor blue emergency poles for immediate assistance.

“I would encourage students, as they’re walking to their classes now, to look around for the emergency phones. Don’t wait until the day to know where it’s at,” Trevis said.

The police department also provides free distress whistles that emit a loud sound to scare off potential harassers when used.

Ishikawa recommends walking with friends to classes. Online, she said to make any social media accounts private and “keep documentation” should it be needed in the future.

Student Health Services is offering a relationship workshop series in the Health Center Conference Room until May 20, with some featuring setting boundaries, useful for preventing stalking situations.

“Be aware of your surroundings,” Trevis said. “If you have an instinct that something doesn’t feel right and you’re on El Camino College campus, go to one of our blue poles and get help.”

For those needing support or assistance, contact the Campus Police, the Office of Title IX, Diversity, and Inclusion or the Student Health Services.