Public Safety Encourages Consciousness Around Strangers After Man is Escorted Off Campus

by TAYLOR BRETHAUER & JACK MELANSON, Editor-In-Chief & Editor

A stranger to the Manhattan College community has been spotted approaching female students over the last two weeks. Although no physical harm has been done, the man has been said to target students, asking them to follow his personal social media accounts.

On Friday, April 13, at 4:19 p.m., Public Safety sent out a school-wide email in regards to the case.

According to Public Safety, “[the perpetrator is] a male, dark skin, tall, in his twenties, beard, wearing a gray sweatshirt, jeans, a ‘Columbia’ backpack, and carries a skateboard and possibly a tripod and camera.”

Public Safety got involved after students reported their encounters with the man.

Wishing to remain anonymous, two female students shared their encounters with the non-student on campus.

“We were walking down past the security booth towards Kelly and some random man stopped my friend and I. He said ‘hey where did you get those shoes’ and she said ‘DSW’ in the most monotone voice because even as we approached him he was staring and we were uncomfortable,” the source said via email.

The man claimed to be a social media promoter.

“He proceeded to say ‘okay cool I’m a social media promoter and I am trying to get people to repost my instagram posts. Can you repost it for me?’ my friend said ‘no sorry I’m not gonna do that’ and he said ‘okay, well can we just be instagram friends because I lied I’m just trying get your Instagram’ and she was really uncomfortable and said ‘I have a boyfriend’ and he’s said ‘no don’t worry I’m gay… Come on I don’t even like girls.”’

The man continued to follow the female students to Kelly Commons.

“We went to Kelly Commons and sat down at the Starbucks. We were there for a good hour and a half maybe and then he comes out of nowhere and sits down with us and goes ‘hey guys sorry I’m late there was some traffic’,” the source said.

After being told by Public Safety to file a report, the student became aware that this was not an isolated incident.

“After I filed the report I kept hearing more and more about him around campus. He has been harassing people like this for weeks and no one said anything until just now. Usually I’m not bothered by random people talking to me like that because obviously we live in New York City it happens every day no matter where you are,” she said. “For him to follow us into a campus building and for him to have harassed multiple other girls on campus is not okay. I feel like we should feel safer than that on our campus.”

Being in-charge of students’ safety as a whole, Public Safety continued their official response.

“Public Safety has received reports of an unidentified male on campus, non MC [sic] student, who has approached students attempting to engage them in conversation regarding social media or life at college, and may try to video these conversations. These incidents have occurred near Kelly Commons and Thomas Hall,” said the email.

A tripod was used by the man for his own social media purposes.

“After describing the occupancies in a group chat someone told me that the same man approached her and her friends saying the same stuff, but in Thomas Vestibule on campus,” another anonymous source, said. “Other [female students] also said that he approached them in front of kelly on Thursday but also with a tripod set up. That was when we decided to go to public safety and notify them about the problem.”

Public Safety also noted that the man is a YouTuber. More specifically, his page is dedicated to approaching collegiate females.

“He is known to approach people on the street or on College campuses to engage in and video conversations, then posting his videos on YouTube,” said the Public Safety email.

The man’s social media accounts have been confirmed. His YouTube channel is  “Andi Arch”, where videos have been posted outside of Kelly Commons. In the video, he is seen heckling women.

Continually, his Instagram handle is “andi_Archtv”, where his lone post is about “picking up college girls”.

Deemed alias, “Andi Arch”, the man has also posted videos inside of New York University’s dormitories.

Public Safety concluded their April 13 email  by urging students to practice listed safety tips.

These include, “Always be aware of your surroundings during the course of your daily   activities, on or off campus. Walk with someone whenever possible. it’s safer to travel in groups. Be cautious if approached by a stranger(s). Never give out personal information to someone you don’t know. If you feel unsafe or see suspicious activity on campus call Public Safety without delay. Provide a good description of the person and their last known location.”

Public Safety encourages students to call 718-862-7333 if they see or are approached by Andi Arch.