OHIO CAMPUS COMPUTER SECURITY ISSUE ADDRESSED AT UNIVERSITYCampus capers - The Lantern - OpinionCampus capers
Thieves loot student security
Published: Monday, January 10, 2005
Article Tools: Page 1 of 1

On Wednesday, The Lantern ran a story regarding two incidents of theft in a campus residence hall, Nosker House, during winter break. The story provided a detailed account of what was stolen - an entire computer system (including a monitor, keyboard, mouse, mousepad, hard drive, ethernet cord and speakers), a chess board, two printers, a wireless router, a stack of CDs and a box of change amounting to about $20.

Campus policy regarding residence hall security over extended breaks states that students are allowed to leave possessions in their rooms while away, but are cautioned that if anything is vandalized or stolen, it is not the university's responsibility to replace any items. Many students chose to leave behind computers, televisions, DVD players and videogame systems during winter break.

A fair number of OSU students come from thousands of miles away from campus. How realistic is it to ask them to remove all valued items from their rooms three times a year? They are forced to decide whether it is worth the hassle of securing their items with a friend who lives closer to campus, trekking to California or Maine bogged down with stuff they will not use over break or risking theft by leaving their belongings in their room.

As it stands, some students do decide to take some of their possessions out of the residence halls during breaks - which results in disruptive "move-in" days on campus the weekend before classes start winter and spring quarters. But some students have no choice but to leave their belongings in their rooms over break. Why isn't the university responsible for securing residence halls so students can return to the same room they left a week or three weeks earlier?

The Lantern believes that the university should take more initiative in securing campus during breaks. It should be fairly easy to detect suspicious activity - someone carrying a television or a computer out of a residence hall - if they are closed for break. During finals week, while students are leaving at different times, residence halls should take extra measures to assure that empty rooms are secured. Once all students have left, residence halls should remain locked and secure until students are able to return early. There should be an available system for students who need to come back earlier than the stated return date for students, but this should not jeopardize the security of other students' belongings.

Security is an important part of a positive college experience for those living in residence halls. If students are afraid to leave their belongings on campus over breaks, that lessens their likelihood of staying in school and encouraging others to attend OSU. Security should be a primary focus of the university - efforts to make the off-campus area safer for students are appreciated, but officials should not forget to watch what is going on under their noses.