You’re in the Library, studying hard, when all of a sudden odd noises are coming from a few computers away. Eventually, it’s too much to bear and you look over at the less-than-discreet offender only to find he’s watching pornography in full screen with no headphones on.

This is the experience Abi Moreno, a senior social work and philosophy major, had not just once, but twice at the Sacramento State University Library.

“The first time I was walking with my friend on the second floor of the library, and we came across this guy whose screen was a full window of pornography,” Moreno said. “It was disturbing. The second time I was just wondering why I had to experience that – I was just trying to study.”

After the incidents, Moreno said she left the Library feeling violated.

“I was so disgusted I just left. I would never want to study next to something like that – it is so disruptive,” Moreno said. “He didn’t even have headphones on. It’s not like something you can casually walk by and not notice. It’s right there in your face.”

Moreno, among other students, has noticed the growing problem in the Library.

“The first time my friend and I encountered that we told the front desk and they kind of grumbled like a ‘not again’ thing,” Moreno said. “Their reaction was not surprised, so I think that this happens often. I have a lot of friends see it too.”

There has been a lot of speculation of it being mainly homeless people committing the acts, but it is hard to be sure.

“Most people would say they are homeless people, but you never know. It could be a student, but I have always seen older men doing it,” Moreno said. “I don’t mean to be ageist, but I do not see the young college students doing it.”

Mary Reddick, the head of user services in the Library, sees a lot of the reports.

“We try not to judge who is doing what; we haven’t had any recent reports and we don’t filter the computers,” Reddick said.

Mark Iwasa, chief of police, said the Library handles these complaints if they fall within the parameters of the Library computer use policy.

“There are two sets of computers in the Library. There are public access computers and then there are the SacLink ones. If a SacLink computer is being used for illegal activity, it can be traced back to that student,” Iwasa said. “Typically we don’t have any problems from that side, but that’s not the case for the public computers.”

Iwasa said it is not unusual for homeless people to use the Library. They are not banned from it.

“Currently, the access to the public computers does not require a login,” Iwasa said.

Iwasa pointed out that it is not a crime to watch pornography in the Library, but when people masturbate in public, that is when the police step in.

“Pornography in general is not a crime – not at school. It’s a crime (to masturbate in the Library),” Iwasa said. “If that was brought to our attention we would have come and arrested that individual subsequent to a citizens’ arrest because it is still a misdemeanor.”

Moreno found her experiences disturbing and is shocked it could happen on Sac State’s campus.

“You don’t really think that would happen in a library. I mean, have some respect. It’s your life and you can watch pornography if you want, but just do it in the privacy of your own home,” Moreno said.

Moreno said the thought of using a computer after someone has spent hours watching pornography is unsettling, and she avoids that area of the Library now.

“I feel like if someone is going to do that they would try to be more discreet about it,” Moreno said.

If no one does anything, it could lead to bigger problems, Moreno said.

“(If) people find out they can do whatever they want in the Library, do you think they would bring other people?” Moreno said. “It’s public and there are children there; that could be a real problem.”

Kaitlin Bruce can be reached at [email protected]