It was a snowy Wednesday morning when senior Tufan Gebecelioglu received his eviction letter from his suite in Hinman College’s Lehman Hall.
Andrea Cronkrite, resident director of Lehman Hall, knocked on his door at 9 a.m. to inform Gebecelioglu that he needed to evacuate and move out of the building by 5 p.m. that same day.
According to Gebecelioglu, the letter of eviction was signed by Suzanne Howell, director of Residential Life, and it explained that Gebecelioglu was banned from entering any residence or dining hall because he was considered to be a threat to the other residents in the building.
This letter came after Gebecelioglu covered a smoke detector when a small fire broke out in his microwave earlier in the week.
Gebecelioglu said he was cooking a greasy type of food item in his microwave with a paper towel underneath it. He stepped out to use the restroom and when he returned saw that the item was on fire. He said he opened the window, then put out the fire and covered the smoke detector.
“I didn’t know the rule about covering the alarm. I don’t think I deserved that severe a punishment,” Gebecelioglu said.
Gebecelioglu, an international student from Turkey studying political science, economics and math, went down the hall to notify the resident assistant of the situation immediately after it occurred.
“I was happy that I stopped the little microwave fire and that the other people in my building didn’t have to stand outside in the cold,” Gebecelioglu said.
Prior to this incident, Gebecelioglu was accused of having incense and unlit Hanukkah candles in the suite.
As a former president of Lehman Hall, Gebecelioglu feels the eviction is unfair. He is currently banned from all places on campus except academic buildings, the gym and the library.
He created a Facebook group titled “Need Help and Justice!!!” asking users to support his efforts to get back on campus. At the time of print, the group had 513 members.
According to Terry Webb, assistant vice president for Student Life, students living in residence halls have agreed to a housing license. In the event a license is broken, the director of Residential Life decides what type of action to take.
Webb said that situations like these are very difficult and are dealt with on a case-by-case basis. He would not comment on this specific situation.
“It really depends on what the situation is. However, when a student is a danger to other people, and it becomes a life safety issue or their behavior negatively impacts the community, Residential Life may choose to remove that person,” Webb said.
Gebecelioglu was stunned by the time frame in which he was asked to leave his residence hall and deemed it as inconsiderate of his own well being. On that day, Feb. 10, the University canceled all classes after 1 p.m. due to snow.
Webb explained that when it comes down to a liability issue, Residential Life will remove the student quickly.
Milton Chester, director in the Office of Student Conduct, explained that an RA can write up any student that violates the Code of Conduct and report it to their supervisor.
Gebecelioglu spoke with Adam Amit, president of the Student Association, about his situation and hopes to appeal his case to Residential Life to try to move back on campus.
“I spoke to ResLife about Tufan’s situation, how he was kicked out in the middle of a snow storm and that he really didn’t have a place to stay,” Amit said. “They informed us that due to liability issues they were not able to let him stay on campus even for a short time.”
Amit’s suggestion to Gebecelioglu was to contact Off Campus College and find an off-campus residence. Gebecelioglu is currently staying with a friend.