Written by Blake Matthews
Less than a month into the new semester, a handful of female Harding students have already been the targets of harassing phone calls.
According to Public Safety director Craig Russell, at least two women had been contacted from an unlisted number and fed information that was “somewhat harassing.” Though the calls that each woman received were “very, very different” in content, he said, the caller in each case had posed as Student Association President Bryan Clifton.
“The fact that somebody would do that was … really shocking,” Clifton said, adding that he was “almost [in] disbelief” when one of the victims told him about it on Aug. 24, the first day of school. Clifton, who said he had not been accused by any of the victims, then referred the student to Public Safety.
Public Safety provides escort services for any students who ask, whether they feel harassed or not. Russell offered these services to the student, but she turned them down.
“She didn’t feel threatened in any way,” Russell said.
The other student who received an anonymous phone call elected not to report it to Public Safety, though she described the call as a “prank” rather than harassment.
“If they had harassed me, I probably would have been more angry,” said the student, who asked for her name to be withheld. She said she received a call during the first week of school asking for her help with the Texas vs. The World fundraiser. The caller introduced himself as Clifton and brought up details that suggested he knew the student.
“The unlisted number was kind of weird,” she said, but when the caller asked her to come to the SA office at a certain time that afternoon, she said yes. The student found the actual Clifton in his office and learned from him that she had been pranked.
“I don’t know why it’s so entertaining,” she said, adding that it was “appalling” that “people would be so bored as to find entertainment in harassing girls.”
Russell said he heard about the student’s case through a third party. He would not rule out the possibility that the two women were called by the same person but emphasized the fact that he did not have enough evidence to confirm it. For now, Russell said, there are not enough leads to continue an investigation.
Clifton said he had no idea who the caller or callers could be, but there were things he would like to say to those responsible.
“One, I would like to ask why, why they would do it,” Clifton said. “And two, I would let them know that I’ve forgiven them for what they’ve done.”
Any students who receive harassing phone calls are encouraged to report them to Public Safety.
