Cruisingforsex.com, a Web site that says it is "dedicated to helping men around the world connect for sexual pleasure," lists thousands of locations worldwide where men can meet to engage in sexual activities.
Bathroom stalls in Stiteler and Williams halls on campus have made the list.
And sources at Penn confirm what the site advertises -- that the basement of Stiteler Hall may have served as a meeting place for gay men.
Norma Bottomer, a custodian who has worked in Stiteler Hall for more than a year, said University officials asked her to erase graffiti announcing sexual messages and meeting times from the men's bathroom in the building's basement late last summer.
Bottomer said that an advertisement for Cruisingforsex was written near the ceiling in the bathroom before a painter was called to remove it. She added that peepholes had been created between the second and third stalls of the bathroom.
Division of Public Safety officials said they had received reports of unknown people in the building during the summer but would not comment on what they were allegedly doing there. The officials added that they have taken measures to prevent it.
Bottomer said that a supervisor informed her that the University took action last summer after a man approached a Penn official for sex in the bathroom.
She said that following the incident, Penn Facilities removed the door to the bathroom and a guard was stationed in the basement.
A sign has also been posted in the area indicating that the "restrooms are now being monitored by the University Police for the safety and well-being of the faculty, students and staff."
Officials added that, although the guard has since been removed, security makes routine checks of the area. No one has been arrested or removed from the building as a result.
Bottomer said she has not seen any unusual activity since the summer.
Jennifer Bottomley, the manager for the second floor of Stiteler Hall, said police officials informed her that activity had occurred in the area during the summer but did not provide her with any details.
User comments were posted on Cruisingforsex in November 2005 warning others to avoid the area.
"You must now squeeze past a guard sitting by the stairway down to this restroom, and its door has been removed," the comments said.
Penn Political Science professor Henry Teune, whose office is located on the second floor of Stiteler Hall, said he has also heard rumors of sexual activity in that bathroom, as well as in other buildings across campus.
He said he encountered a group of men thought to be engaging in sexual activity in the bathroom several years ago.
Both Teune and Bottomer added that they have heard rumors about the meeting places in one form or another since at least the 1970s.
And Penn may not be the only university in the City to have hosted such activity. Other Philadelphia locations listed on the Web site include rooms in buildings at Drexel, Temple and Philadelphia universities.
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