William Curry, the Alabama man who lived on campus for almost a year under false pretenses, said he “honestly, really couldn’t [say]” why he chose to pose as a student in an interview with The Daily. When asked what he was doing on campus, Curry said he was “just living the normal Stanford life, meeting people, socializing, as you do in college.”
Across five different dorms, according to reports from residents and communications obtained by The Daily, Curry worked hard to squash suspicions, coming up with new stories several times and moving to different dorms when he was removed, aided by a lack of schoolwide University response.
Curry said he lied to people in high school about attending Stanford and claimed his parents believed he was enrolled in the University. He confirmed many elements of the Daily’s reporting and even messaged a Daily reporter after the interview, saying “always my duty to help my fellow students.”
He also said he was forwarding a recording of the interview to his lawyer, but refused to name the lawyer or provide any contact information. The University did not respond to a request for comment on any charges they were pursuing against Curry.
Though he characterized the coverage as accurate, Curry did not confirm all the details reported by The Daily.
According to emails obtained by The Daily, administrators claimed that Curry was removed at least four times.
“No, I don’t remember any other time I’ve been removed from campus [residences],” Curry said.
Curry said he had an apartment in Palo Alto where he is currently staying, though he did not provide an address or records. His ex-girlfriend said that Curry had told her the same thing while they were dating, during which time Curry was reportedly squatting in Murray House.
Curry said he made money by playing competitive poker and trading cryptocurrencies.
In the 30-minute conversation, Curry’s primary concern was refuting the harassment claims made by his former girlfriend by suggesting “she has fake numbers that she’s using, saying I texted her, when I have no contact with her.”
The Daily received extensive text message evidence from his ex-girlfriend of Curry harassing her over a period of several months, including several texts where he identified himself by name. The texts were all from the summer and fall before Curry was removed from campus on Oct. 27.
Curry said he felt his ex-girlfriend may have been attempting to “piggyback off of what’s already happened,” and that he didn’t believe she filed a harassment claim with the Stanford University Department of Public Safety (SUDPS). “I wouldn’t have been able to keep up what you say, like the route of being on campus for over a year, if those claims of harassment were real.”
SUDPS spokesperson Bill Larson confirmed that a harassment claim against Curry had been filed with the department previously, after a six-day silence from SUDPS since The Daily’s initial request for comment on Thursday night.
Responding to claims made by his ex-girlfriend that Curry had stalked her during his time on campus this quarter, Curry said he remembered encountering his ex-girlfriend one night this fall after leaving Arrillaga Dining Commons on his way to Crothers Hall. His ex-girlfriend described the same encounter in an interview with The Daily and said she’d called the police afterward, telling them where Curry was staying.
The Daily has reached out to SUDPS for comment on why Curry was not removed from Crothers after that call, which took place some time before his ultimate removal Thursday.
When asked whether he could provide other sources who would corroborate his account, Curry said, “I would if it wasn’t for how much I personally respect privacy.” He denied that living in dorms unauthorized and misrepresenting his identity was invading residents’ privacy.
When asked whether he planned to return to campus, Curry was evasive. “I don’t have anything else to say about that,” he said. He added, “most people I’ve talked to don’t think it’s that big of an issue,” seemingly referring to his time in student residences.