A woman was showering in Ellicott Hall Thursday afternoon when she was surprised by a peeping Tom who poked his head under the curtain and looked at her, according to University Police.

She then tried to pull the curtain shut, but the man put his hand in and touched her face and tapped her with an open hand, according to University Police. He then laughed and ran out of the bathroom.

Police do not have any suspects. University Police spokeswoman Maj. Cathy Atwell said it is important for students to be aware of what happened because peeping Toms tend to be repeat offenders.

Atwell said there have been various peeping Tom incidents reported on the campus before, though she did not know how many.

The peeping Tom has worried many of the women living in Ellicott Hall, located behind Byrd Stadium.

Emily Schmitt, a freshman public and community health major, changed her schedule after the incident so that she can shower when she knows other people are around.

She said she is not the only one worried and that many of the women on her floor have been talking about it.

“Most of the people in the hall are very nervous about it,” Schmitt said.

However, to some of the women living in Ellicott Hall, the peeping Tom not a serious worry.

“I guess it’s concerning, but I’m not scared to have a shower or anything,” said Kristen Mui, a freshman architecture major.

Atwell did not know if the peeping Tom was a resident or an outsider, but Ellicott resident assistants blamed tailgating as a potential cause of the incident.

Asad Akhtar, a senior business major and an RA in Ellicott Hall, said tailgating has been a problem there, and residents will hopefully learn to not let people in the dorm who don’t belong. Tailgating is when someone who doesn’t live in the building follows a resident – who has access through a university-issued swipe card – into a building.

Autumn Speller, a sophomore criminology major and another RA in Ellicott Hall, said it will be impossible to stop all tailgating, and the best thing the RAs can do is make sure that all the residents are aware of Thursday’s assault.

Speller said the resident director of Ellicott Hall, Devin Cogswell, sent all of the RAs the crime alert in an e-mail and told them to make sure all the student knew about it too.

The Ellicott Hall RAs have not met since the incident Thursday, but Speller said the incident will probably be a big part of the next meeting.

Speller said she is not worried, but residents should be careful.

“I would say everyone needs to keep their eyes open,” Speller said.

Contact reporter Will Skowronski at skowronskidbk@gmail.com.