Weekend crime spree hits campus

This past weekend, three burglaries of students’ dorms occurred on the Colorado College campus. The thefts of student rooms claimed thousands of dollars in valuable items, but also, victims say, had an unsettlingly personal feel.

Sophomore Emma Okamoto, living in the Elbert Italian House, was one of four students who had items stolen last Friday night and early Saturday morning. Okamoto said she returned around 11:15 pm last Friday night and realized her backpack, safe and drawers had been rifled. Okamoto’s laptop was missing, but her digital camera and external hard drive were not. 

“It’s still a little creepy to go back there,” she said. “We weren’t sure if [the burglars] could possibly still be there and we didn’t know how they got in at first.” 

Okamoto said she found out the next morning that sophomore Alexandra Epstein’s room next door had also been broken into. Okamoto said Epstein’s laptop was taken and that Epstein’s jewelry box had been rifled, but her diamond jewelry was not stolen. Okamoto said her safe, which had not been programmed, had also been opened. She said the safe would have to have been opened with a default code which the burglar must have known.

Sophomore Alex Kronman, Editor of the Catalyst, and his roommate Ben Quam also fell victim to the burglars. Someone jimmied open the window and broke into their room on the first floor of the CC Inn sometime late Friday night between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. 

Kronman returned to his room on the first floor early Saturday morning to find muddy boot prints on his bed and floor. Kronman’s backpack had been stolen, as well as his laptop, digital camera, iPod and wristwatch. Quam’s laptop and iPod were taken. 

“They kinda wiped us out,” Kronman said. The burglar did not take the TV or Xbox.

Kronman said he believes the burglars also broke the password to access his computer. Someone logged onto his Skype account and called his girlfriend in China several times, pretending to be Kronman, and said he was high. This happened less than an hour after police arrived at the scene. The computers contained years of Kronman and Quam’s personal information. As a precaution, they both cancelled their credit cards and changed all of their passwords.

“I felt like we had always kept our room safe and locked, but now I’m conscious about locking the windows and closing the blinds as well,” Quam said. “The school should make an effort to put up security bars or something on first floor rooms where crime has been an problem.”

On Monday, students received an e-mail from Residential Life that said several students had been victims of burglary and provided eight “important safety tips.” These included locking doors and windows, using safes and getting renters insurance. No details of the burglaries were included in the e-mail.

Julie Houser, Associate Director of Campus Safety and former detective and polygrapher, said that most of the stolen items were students’ electronic devices. She said electronics are easy to sell, so they move quickly to the next person, which them obvious targets for theft and burglary.

“Crime is an opportunity,” Houser said. 

To prevent such opportunity, she said, people should take care to lock windows and doors, check window screens and report unusual activity. She said that students have a responsibility to keep themselves and each other safe and that Campus Safety’s role is not primarily one of enforcement. 

“We’re not here to police,” Houser said. “We’re here to help people make mature, responsible decisions.”