February may be the shortest month, but Campus Security still had plenty of incidents to deal with.
Officers assisted Den staff in removing a student caught stealing beer from the Black Lounge. The young man was not concerned with the beer from the storage room, taking a more direct approach.
“He was helping himself,” said Campus Security Manager Lanny Fritz.
The man, who wandered into the Black Lounge at the end of the evening, was caught filling his glass with draft beer from the tap.
“I don’t think he got past the first glass,” said Fritz.
According to Campus Security, a computer containing academic papers from all around the world, as well as five years of accumulated files and data disappeared.
“The loss was disturbing to the individual involved,” said Bob King, the on-duty supervisor that evening.
There was no sign of forced entry and Campus Security is still investigating the incident.
Another major theft of school property occurred when a data projector, with an estimated value of $6,995, was lifted from the Education Tower.
“The biggest crime problem by far is theft,” said Fritz. “We will lose several hundred dollars worth of property a year, half of which is school property and the other half coming from the student population.”
Fritz and Campus Security Assistant Manager Ken Kress suggest students keep an eye on their property. Most thefts occur while students are taking a break from their work, leaving their valuables unprotected.
If students do leave items such as phones, laptops or textbooks at their workstations while taking a break, they should have a trustworthy friend watch the items while they are gone.
The month of February had an average number of incidents reported.
“Everyone is into their projects and midterms right now, so there wasn’t much time for big events or concerts,” said Fritz, adding such events usually pose the most problems for Campus Security.