NEW YORK TWO COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM CLASSROOM February 16, 2006 - Two laptops stolen from classroom

February 16, 2006
Two Apple laptops were reported stolen from the Center for Natural Sciences Room 206 on Jan. 28, investigator Tom Dunn said.

Charlie Tilton, a lab specialist in CNS, discovered the theft while checking the pilot physics classroom, said Michael Rogers, assistant professor of physics. The theft took place between Jan. 16 and Jan. 25, Dunn said.

The two Macintosh G4 Powerbooks were valued at around $2,000 each, said Luke Keller, assistant professor of physics.

Rogers said the laptops in CNS were secured to the tables by computer locks, and it appeared the computer locks had been wrenched out of the laptops in order to remove them from the room. Rogers said the computers might have been damaged in the theft.

“They were cabled to a table — you can’t just take it off,” he said. “I haven’t seen a laptop that had the cable forcefully removed from it, but I’d imagine that it would cause some damage.”

One laptop was already stolen from the physics department in the fall semester, Keller said. He said though the laptops are insured, the department will have to pay a $500 deductible for each laptop to be replaced.

The computers were stolen from a pilot collaborative classroom designed by the physics department to be conducive for group projects.

After the January thefts, the physics department removed the laptops from the classroom.

Students who need a laptop will have to check them out from a “secured location,” Rogers said. The computers will be replaced in the lab next fall, and he said the department is “rethinking the security” of the room to prevent further thefts.

Dunn said in the fall semester, several computers belonging to the college worth a total of $7,190 were stolen on campus. One of those computers, valued at $2,500, was recovered.

Before the thefts, the pilot room featured six round tables with laptops attached to them. The finished room will be completed next fall, will be able to hold 99 students and include another classroom and a closet.

Roger said the thefts were frustrating.

“The classroom is being designed for students, for their learning, and now these resources are being taken away,” he said.

Keller said the thefts probably occurred because the classroom is supposed to be kept locked but is used by professors who do not have keys to the room and cannot lock it after their classes.

Any information about the laptops should be reported to Public Safety at 274-3333.