By snoadmin
A Daily Forty-Niner investigation conducted over the weekend found approximately 18 campus buildings with unlocked entrances. Within the unlocked facilities and classrooms, dozens of projectors, televisions, microwaves, DVD/VCR players and computers were left exposed or unsecured.
The Forty-Niner team of reporters was able to easily walk into unlocked classrooms, computer labs, faculty offices, storage rooms and maintenance areas between the hours of 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. on the weekend nights of Nov. 17 through Nov. 19.
These findings were made during campus-wide heightened concerns over safety as a result of four recent attempted sexual assaults and the long-standing problems of theft of campus and personal equipment.
The Forty-Niner team did not touch security equipment or use burglary tools such as crowbars or lock picks to enter buildings forcefully or illegally. All buildings that were accessed were unlocked or were accessible by pressing the disabled door entrance button.
The buildings that were left unlocked during the late weekend hours included the Social Sciences & Public Affairs Building (where the Forty-Niner newsroom is located), the Human Services and Design Building, the Vivian Engineering Center, the Physical Education Building, the James L. Jensen Student Access to Science and Math Center, the Molecular & Life Sciences Center, Peterson Hall 1 and 3, the University Theatre and its tech rooms, the Psychology Building, the College of Education Building and Lecture Hall 150 and 151.
Approximately 45 projectors, 23 televisions, 25 pairs of DVD/VCR players and six microwaves were found in the unlocked classrooms and faculty offices. Many of the televisions and DVD/VCR players, though exposed from open classrooms, were latched down and deadbolted.
Three computer labs of varying sizes, however, were found to be open and easily accessible. Any anti-theft devices could not be found on any of the computers or their corresponding equipment (mice, keyboards, scanners, printers, etc.). In total, the Forty-Niner team found approximately 36 working and unsecured computers in various locations.
Other items found within open classrooms and offices in the three-night search included an unlocked laptop, a Scantron grading machine, a large Encad wide-format printer, old-fashioned electronic typewriters, mini-fridges, Zip drives, toasters, a copy machine, microscopes and other scientific equipment.
Throughout the three-night investigation, the Forty-Niner teams saw University Police and other law enforcement officers patrolling the campus from within their vehicles. There was noticeable increase, however, in campus police presence since the four recent assaults.
On the first night of the investigation, reporters entering an unlocked entrance to the Vivian Engineering Center set off the alarm. An officer responded within five minutes and upon seeing the Forty-Niner reporters, asked what they were doing there.
The reporters stated their intentions and the police officer soon left.
Nearly all restrooms from within and outside the campus buildings were unlocked. Additionally, most of the building’s stairwells had open doors.
Some members of the Forty-Niner teams found students using the Fine Arts and Design building’s facilities during the late weekend hours. According to these students, the Fine Arts buildings and Design Building are accessible nearly 24 hours a day because students use them constantly to work on projects.
According to Scott Charmack, associated vice president of Physical Planning and Facilities Management, it is the University Police’s job to lock the outside doors, but not the interior doors. He also said it is each individual department’s responsibility to lock the interiors.
Charmack said patrolling has become more important than checking building doors because of the recent attacks.
“The police have been very busy with the increase in the escort service, and that has taken priority over unlocked doors,” Charmack said.
Chief of University Police Jack Pearson said with all the campus functions going on, doors get unlocked and do not always get locked again.
“We need the help of the faculty and students in [locking the doors],” Pearson said.
Pearson also said, “We are still locking the doors. It is our job to secure the doors. We check between 9:30 and 11 p.m. on Friday and again on Saturday morning.”
According to Pearson, academic departments will unlock doors in-between these times and it is up to them to lock them again. The police do not go back and re-check all of the doors because they do not have the staffing to do so.
Lauren Williams and Krystle Ralston also contributed to this report.
