harrisonsdream
05-27-2007, 12:06 PM
Stanford focuses on security after second impostor found
Students say nonconfrontational atmosphere helped woman blend in
By JOHN COTE
San Francisco Chronicle
STANFORD, CALIF. — Stanford University officials, for the second time last week, found themselves Friday dealing with an interloper who has managed to pass herself off as a member of the university community for months.
The latest incident involves a young woman, identified as Elizabeth Okazaki, who essentially made herself at home in the campus' Varian Physics Laboratory, sometimes spending the night there, using the computers and attending seminars, according to students.
University officials say they are taking steps to keep Okazaki off campus.
Some students say the situation has been going on since at least 2004.
"I thought she was just another grad student, but then you talk to her and you realize that perhaps she doesn't really know what's going on," said Surjeet Rajendran, 24, a graduate student in physics. "She pretended to know physics, but it was very obvious that she didn't have any idea what she was talking about."
Okazaki alternately said she was affiliated with another academic department, was working on an ambiguous project that combined physics with humanities or was working with renowned physics professor Leonard Susskind, students said.
How Okazaki came to frequent the physics lab is unclear. A university spokeswoman said she could not comment on whether Okazaki had been a university employee.
Whatever the reason, the largely nonconfrontational atmosphere in the physics department allowed her to go unchallenged for years, some students said.
"A university has a lot of weird people," Rajendran said. "Some of the faculty are weird, some of the grad students are weird. So you don't really know who's who. And you feel rather, I guess, rude asking them, 'What the hell are you doing?' I guess in that way it helps some strange people hang out without too many questions being raised."
University attorneys are preparing a letter notifying Okazaki that she is not allowed on campus while police and university officials investigate her actions, Stanford spokeswoman Kate Chesley said.
The emergence of Okazaki comes on the heels of revelations earlier last week that an 18-year-old Orange County woman, Azia Kim, had passed herself off as a freshman for most of the school year, convincing students to let her room with them in two separate dorms for about eight months.
Vice Provost for Student Affairs Greg Boardman said the university is launching an investigation into the Kim case.
Okazaki used to prop doors open in the building, apparently because she didn't have a card key, triggering concerns about security or theft, students said.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars in scientific equipment has been stolen from campus science buildings in recent months, university officials said, but all the students interviewed said they were confident Okazaki had no involvement.
Students say nonconfrontational atmosphere helped woman blend in
By JOHN COTE
San Francisco Chronicle
STANFORD, CALIF. — Stanford University officials, for the second time last week, found themselves Friday dealing with an interloper who has managed to pass herself off as a member of the university community for months.
The latest incident involves a young woman, identified as Elizabeth Okazaki, who essentially made herself at home in the campus' Varian Physics Laboratory, sometimes spending the night there, using the computers and attending seminars, according to students.
University officials say they are taking steps to keep Okazaki off campus.
Some students say the situation has been going on since at least 2004.
"I thought she was just another grad student, but then you talk to her and you realize that perhaps she doesn't really know what's going on," said Surjeet Rajendran, 24, a graduate student in physics. "She pretended to know physics, but it was very obvious that she didn't have any idea what she was talking about."
Okazaki alternately said she was affiliated with another academic department, was working on an ambiguous project that combined physics with humanities or was working with renowned physics professor Leonard Susskind, students said.
How Okazaki came to frequent the physics lab is unclear. A university spokeswoman said she could not comment on whether Okazaki had been a university employee.
Whatever the reason, the largely nonconfrontational atmosphere in the physics department allowed her to go unchallenged for years, some students said.
"A university has a lot of weird people," Rajendran said. "Some of the faculty are weird, some of the grad students are weird. So you don't really know who's who. And you feel rather, I guess, rude asking them, 'What the hell are you doing?' I guess in that way it helps some strange people hang out without too many questions being raised."
University attorneys are preparing a letter notifying Okazaki that she is not allowed on campus while police and university officials investigate her actions, Stanford spokeswoman Kate Chesley said.
The emergence of Okazaki comes on the heels of revelations earlier last week that an 18-year-old Orange County woman, Azia Kim, had passed herself off as a freshman for most of the school year, convincing students to let her room with them in two separate dorms for about eight months.
Vice Provost for Student Affairs Greg Boardman said the university is launching an investigation into the Kim case.
Okazaki used to prop doors open in the building, apparently because she didn't have a card key, triggering concerns about security or theft, students said.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars in scientific equipment has been stolen from campus science buildings in recent months, university officials said, but all the students interviewed said they were confident Okazaki had no involvement.