Between Aug. 1 and Oct. 4, there were reportedly 25 thefts, four of which were grand theft auto, 10 acts of vandalism, 10 acts of student misconduct and nine personal injuries on campus.
The Mt. SAC Public Safety Department recommends students and faculty watch "Shots Fired on Campus," an instructional video.
Of the 25 stolen objects, most were items under $900, such as backpacks, textbooks, cell phones, wallets and laptops. A pair of Nikes disappeared from a locker in building 27C, and an iPod was also reported missing from the same building. There were four attempts to steal vehicles from student parking lots, one of which resulted in an instant arrest on Sept. 27. The suspect had been trying to steal a Cadillac from Lot H when he was apprehended by security. Theft appears to be the most common crime occurring on campus, a fact that Assistant Director of Public Safety Mike Montoya attributes to “our large student population.”
According to Mt. SAC librarian Christine Walker, it is not uncommon for students to leave their belongings at a library table for a few minutes to make a quick dash to the bathroom.
“We definitely see it in here,” Walker said. “People will leave their things behind on a table or ask someone sitting near them to watch it, and they’re usually just strangers. That person can easily just take it.”
Walker said that a male student reported that his textbook with his name written on the inside cover was stolen off a table. Within the hour his book was sold at the Day and Night bookstore across the street.
“Even though the student had written his name in it, he still had to buy it back from them,” Walker said.
Thefts in the parking lots have also occurred. A tailgate was stolen off of a 2003 Ford F-150 in Lot H on Sept. 20, followed by the theft of an antenna from a Jeep and a parking permit from another vehicle on Sept. 22. Hubcaps were stolen two days later from a 2004 Toyota Camry parked in Lot W. While these thefts were all car parts, Sargeant and Field Supervisor of Public Safety Anthony Kelly said it is important to remember that getting inside the car itself isn’t all that difficult.
“When you’re parking out in the parking lots, don’t have your backpacks and your laptops exposed to somebody who could just jimmy the window down and take your property,” Kelly said.
Some students have already implemented this way of thinking in their day-to-day lives.
Hannah Steltzlen, a 28-year-old aviation science major, said she takes precautions to avoid theft. “I always lock my car and hide anything of value, like my iPod or GPS. I take my own precautions to avoid theft in the first place,” Steltzlen said.
The next most prevalent crime on campus is vandalism with 10 incidents occurring so far this semester.
“People try to kick vending machines in,” said Director of Public Safety Mark DiMaggio. “Or they’ll try to break the metal locks on them.”
DiMaggio said the college is has looked at preventative measures.
“We’ve talked about putting up security cameras around the machines or putting sturdier locks on them. But in the end, the vending machines are owned by a private company and not the school itself, so it’s really up to them to decide what to do about their property getting damaged.” While vending machines have been some of the most popular targets so far this semester, they are not the only ones. On Sept. 29 an unknown suspect kicked in a locker in building 50G and a student was arrested for vandalizing textbooks with graffiti on Oct. 4.
There were 10 reports of student misconduct, which can range from disorderly behavior to drug use on campus. A student ingested more than 100 Advil before coming to school on Sept. 21. The student was then transported to Health Services for medical attention. Another incident that was downgraded from a sexual battery to student misconduct occurred on Sept. 23 when an unknown female student reportedly groped the genitals of a male student while onlookers snapped pictures.
A large part of keeping a campus safe is the ability to handle an emergency efficiently as it presents itself, such as a shooter, a bomb threat or a natural disaster, a task that falls upon all faculty members, not just public safety officials. However, many faculty members are unprepared.
“I think that we professors are minimally prepared to deal with emergencies on campus,” said art history professor Cristina Hernandez. “Certainly, some specific, practical training would be helpful.”
Emily Wolery, Library Department Chair, agreed.
“We’ve had some drills covering emergencies like earthquakes and fires but we haven’t had an actual shooter drill,” Woolery said.
Michael Montoya, assistant director of parking services, suggested that students and faculty watch a video on the school’s website called ‘Shots Fired!’ Woolery said she watched the video but said she would rather have additional training.
“I like drills. I think they help a lot, even if some of the students get annoyed that it interrupts their studying in here,” Woolery said.
She added that the lack of communication equipment in the library is also another thing that could be added to make the campus safer.
“We don’t have a PA system in here,” said Walker. “But they do this thing now where you can register your phone number on the Mt.SAC website and get text-message alerts in case anything dangerous is happening on campus.”
Students interested in taking part in the text alert system can obtain information through the Mt. SAC Banner system.
- Sarah Venezio
Features Editor
Loading...
