Female students with Explore program report harassment at University of Montreal

The University of Montreal says it is upping security on its campus after students participating in a language-exchange program reported several incidents of harassment involving at least two men in the last week.

The university said that one man, who is not a student, has been arrested in connection to some of the incidents. Another man, who does attend the school, has been expelled from the dormitories.

Montreal police said that they could not verify that an arrest took place. 

Christian Blanchette, the dean of continuing education, said in a letter that the university received reports of inappropriate phone calls being made to students as part of "three separate incidents of inappropriate conduct or harassment."

The reports stem from students living and studying at the university as part of Explore, a government-funded summer program to learn French.

One female student, whose identity CBC has agreed to protect, said a man had been following female students to their residence buildings.

She said she also received one of the calls.

"He spoke in broken English with me and asked me a bunch of questions — what I was wearing, what size I am," she said.

She said that her fellow students have told her that they aren't feeling safe.

"I know a lot of girls in my class and in other classes feel like they can't open their door, [that] maybe they shouldn't go to the washroom at night," she said.

"I know some girls carry little knives around now because they are nervous about what is going to happen."

In his letter to students, Blanchette reminds them not to let unknown people into residence halls and to keep their dorm rooms locked.

University spokesperson Geneviève O'Meara told CBC News the school has increased security as a result of the incidents.

"These incidents are unacceptable for U de M," O'Meara said. "We took them very seriously."