CALIFORNIA COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM SCHOOL Wildcat - University High School - Article

Intruders Steal Classroom Computers

By Era Dykhne

At first sight, Neil King’s classroom showed no signs of intrusion.

Doors and windows were locked, but unknown burglars had somehow broken into his classroom on the weekend of Oct. 8 and 9 and made away with two iMaccomputers. The cables, which locked down the computers in the back of the classroom near the windows, had been cut.

The burglars also severed a lock on one of King’s closets but nothing from the closet was taken.

“It was just books in there,” said King. “I guess no one wants those.”

Because the room showed no evidence of force, King suspects the burglars did not need to break in.

“Whoever it was must have had a key,” said King.

This is not the first time King has been a victim of vandalism. A new G4 computer was stolen from his classroom last school year.

The staff of the school’s Literary Magazine has been especially affected by this theft because it uses King’s computers to design their production. The progress of the magazine is now severely slowed because King has only two remaining computers. Some students have also lost already finished pieces.

At this point, the administration has not come to a definitive conclusion of how to deal with the theft issue but is considering re-keying some of the classrooms. The bottom line is that the school’s 1920’s design simply does not have the fortifications necessary to protect expensive electronic devices such as computers.

“All I want to know is, what kind of person would steal from a public high school?” said King looking at the scathingly empty table where the computers once stood.