STORRS -- A video has gone viral on the UConn campus in Storrs, showing a student’s encounter with a man at the library and it has raised questions about student safety.
Students that recognize the man said he is a regular at the library but usually keeps to himself except on Tuesday when he allegedly made a comment that offended a student.
In the video, the student can be heard saying “I’m sitting here and this man is blabbing to me about being a Trump supporter.”
The video has been shared all over Facebook. The student that recorded and posted the video accused the man of making inappropriate racial comments at her.
The student can then be heard saying “and I’m a Neanderthal because I’m not white.”
FOX61 blurred the man’s face because has not been charged with a crime. The student who recorded the video did not want to go on camera, but other students that go to the library often said they see the man all the time.
“I just see him in the library just usually on the computer, eats a carrot every now and then,” said Imran Husain, a student at UConn.
“Actually pretty much every day last semester sort of like two, three a.m., late night when the library is pretty much empty,” said Sayed Hussain, also a student at UConn.
Both Imran and Sayed said they assumed the man was homeless as he has been known to go around asking for a ride late at night.
“They’re actually just shocked because they’ve never heard this man speak before,” added Husain.
UConn police said a student brought this incident to their attention and they have opened an investigation.
"Various offices within the University also have been notified so they can reach out to affected students with support and services," said UConn spokesperson, Stephanie Reitz.
Reitz said they can't discuss specifics of the incident because it's an open investigation, but "generally speaking, UConn can bar anyone from campus property if it's determined he or she poses a threat to others or disrupts normal university operations."
Reitz said UConn students have the right to feel safe and respected and anyone who doesn't abide by those expectations isn't welcome on their campus community.