Confusion, apprehension, and loss taunt the psyches of students whose houses were burglarized over winter break and in the early days of the spring semester. The residents of at least one fraternity house and two off-campus houses have been on the receiving end of a string of thefts, which vary from sodas to stereo systems.
On January 6, Associate Dean of Students Rick Warner sent out a campus-wide email that confirmed “dorms and the athletic center have also been sites of theft.” Members of Phi Delta Theta and the residents of 16 Harry Freeman’s Place and 305 Jennison St. have chosen to talk about their experiences. The thefts have left them and those around them feeling violated and vulnerable.
“I had the most stuff stolen, and I felt really violated,” said Jordan Extine ‘09. “Plus, we had comps coming up. That someone would come into the house and get into my room and look into my personal stuff. I still feel very vulnerable, I guess. I went home this past weekend just to get away.”
Extine and swimming team mate Jordan Blackwell returned to campus January 10 after attending a swimming tournament in Florida. When they entered their house, they noticed a cold draft and clutter that was not there when they left weeks earlier. When Extine went up to his room, he found his door, which he said he locked, open and various items, such as his computer, movies, and video games, all gone. Extine and Blackwell checked other rooms, some of which had things stolen as well, including clothes, an XBOX, another computer, and a stereo system.
Extine and Blackwell called campus security and the police. The police instructed them to create a log of things stolen, and campus services fixed their door, which Extine believes might have been pried open with a crowbar.
Phi Delt Marquis Triplett ‘10 said he found out his room had been broken into December 29, when Patrick Murphy called him. His door, and others, had been knocked off their hinges, and he had clothes stolen. Four other residents were robbed as well; they had TVs, DVD players, and game systems stolen.
House Steward Andrew Chelton ‘09 said he checked all doors and windows before leaving the house on December 26.
Triplett decided to move out of Phi Delta Theta, and now lives in Wolcott.
“This is the second time my room has been broken into since I’ve lived into that house. I was done with it. There was no explanation of what happened, and how they got in. It should be the school’s responsibility to do something about it, and pretty much no one has been doing anything about it. So I have had to take things into my own hands.”
Joshua Lopez’s ‘10 house on Jennison was also subject to an attempted burglary last Sunday. Lopez was walking back to his house from Crawford Street. When he opened the door, he noticed the glass panel on his door was broken, so he called campus services and later the police. A case of soda on the porch was the only thing he found missing, but the experience made him feel nervous.
“I feel kind of violated,” Lopez said, who is on campus helping Dr. Mikesell with a proposal on Latin American Studies. “I have been living alone here for a couple of days now. Just the fact that I had to come back quickly just to get some stuff and have this incident, it’s really just violated my sense of privacy. Security was able to come rather quickly. They did what they could.”
Associate Dean of Students Rick Warner said the administration is working to address the problem but does not want to overreact. Campus services personnel have increased night patrols. Administrators are also in the closing stages of interviews for a new Security Director. Due to budget constraints and cultural realities, increased security personnel will not accompany the new Security Director, he said.
“I think people by and large have been working on keep things locked up, but we can’t guarantee that nothing is going to be broken into,” said Warner, who receives a log after campus services personnel do nightly door checks. “Some of the break-ins have involved doors that are locked. The security director will be hired before the semester is out. I’m sure about that.”