The University of Rhode Island alerted students Tuesday that police are investigating at least four reports of video voyeurism in residence halls and that a suspect has not yet been identified.
In an email to students, the university's police department said four reported video recordings were taken at two residence halls on the main campus in Kingston on Sunday and Monday nights.
"The University is supporting the students who reported these incidents, and the safety of our community is our top priority," the email said, adding that student-housing staff would increase their evening rounds in dorms with community restrooms and that university police would also step up their patrols.
The email instructed students: "Please exercise additional awareness when showering."
Freshman Nadia Darosa told NBC affiliate WJAR in Providence that's exactly what she's doing. She said she has assigned a friend to keep an eye out when she is using the restroom.
"This morning I was like actually having an anxiety attack when I was taking a shower because I was really afraid," Darosa said.
Student Alex Roath said he is avoiding showers entirely. "I got the email this morning when I was about to take a shower and uh, I'm not doing that now."
Another student, Nicole Gargiles, told WJAR that the university's warning was particularly frightening because dorms are co-ed "so they can just look in, and there aren't always (resident advisers) just monitoring the bathrooms."
Police have released a description of the suspected voyeur, who is male.
The University of Rhode Island has more than 18,000 students, including about 14,600 undergraduates.
