By Liz Ciocher
News Editor
The Signal and Campus Police work together on a weekly basis to inform the campus community about crime on and around campus. All records given to The Signal are public records and do not contain personal information. Some information provided may be triggering for some students.
The following incidents occurred prior to spring break. Post-spring break, there were no recorded incidents reported to Campus Police that were permitted for use in The Signal, likely due to the unoccupied residence halls and vacated campus.
Feb. 21: Bliss Hall Ruckus
A professor in Bliss Hall called Campus Police after the last straw of many incidents of mischievousness. The professor reported around 9:45 p.m. that a glass book display case was slightly pried open, evidence that the bookcase had been tampered with. Prior to this report to Campus Police, professors in the building explained that Bliss had become victim to many acts of mischievousness, including items going missing or being rearranged in an odd manner.
While the professors did not fear any imminent danger, they expressed to Campus Police their concerns for Bliss’s security measures and poor exterior lighting.
The bookcase did not have any apparent damage or missing property at the scene, with the exception of the glass cover that appeared ‘slightly warped.’ Campus Police filed a work order following their arrival.
Feb. 24: Lot 11 Break In
A student reported an incident of theft from his vehicle to Campus Police around 1:50 p.m. The student parked his vehicle on the second floor of Lot 11 on Feb. 23, but returned at 9:30 a.m. the next day to discover his glove compartment left open and its contents scattered around the vehicle. The contents included chapstick, wrappers, pens and pencils.
$2 worth of change was also reported missing from the vehicle.
The vehicle appeared to show no signs of forced entry, though the student said he was “90% sure” he locked the vehicle. He also included the vehicle has manual locks, so there is a possibility he could’ve missed locking one of the vehicle’s doors.
Campus Police gave the student a case number and instructions on how to retrieve the incident’s police report.
Feb. 27: Chopstick induced fire alarm
A Campus Police officer arrived at Hausdoerffer around 10 p.m. and activated the building’s strobes and fire alarm system after the building’s panel indicated a smoke detector was activated. The building was evacuated, and the patrolmen smelled smoke coming from the indicated room’s common area.
About eight minutes later, the Ewing Fire Department arrived at the scene and determined the cause of the smoke to be from an ignited chopstick in the room’s garbage can. The Hausdoerffer resident confirmed she ignited the chopstick to light a candle and threw it away, causing some of the trash’s paper contents to also begin smoking.
After controlling the smoke, the fire personnel deemed the room was clear, reset the alarm and allowed everyone to return inside the building.
Feb. 27: Campus Town gym theft
At 7:56 a.m., a student reported to Campus Police she was missing a long black North Face parka from the Campus Town gym.
The student told the police she had left the parka in one of the available cubbies in the gym at 6:30 a.m., shortly after her arrival. At 7:32, she reported to the gym staff that it was not where she left it.
Campus Police obtained a list of all the students who checked in within the same time frame as the student, but is suspicious that there could have been students in the gym that were not checked in. This suspicion arose because the student making the report was missing from the check-in list.
Review of the gym’s cameras did not show anyone leaving with the parka, though multiple guests arrived with similar looking jackets.
At 8:10 a.m., a victim notification form was completed and a copy was given to the student.
