Sixteen dorm rooms in Couzens Residence Hall were broken into or had their window screens cut during Thanksgiving Break, campus police said. For all their efforts, though, the thieves didn’t take much – only two iPods and several rolls of quarters were missing from the rooms.
Another room in Alice Lloyd Residence Hall was also broken into over the break. A window screen was slashed here, too. The Department of Public Safety said the break-in appears to be connected to those in Couzens.
Many Couzens residents said they think the thieves scaled a ledge on the southeast corner of the building and slashed the window screens to gain access to the rooms.
DPS has no suspects.
LSA freshman Britney Faulkner, a victim of one of the break-ins, said she found the window screen missing and a handprint on her roommate’s bed when she returned to her dorm Sunday. Nothing was missing.
All of the rooms on the ground floor of Couzens have sliding glass windows and come equipped with a bar that can be placed in the track of the window. When properly installed, the bar prevents the window from sliding completely open.
“The people who (barred their windows) avoided having their rooms broken into,” DPS spokeswoman Diane Brown said.
Brown said she can’t remember there ever being so many robberies in the same place at the same time.
LSA freshman Domenic Terenzi, who lives on the ground floor, said he does not think the bars are enough to prevent entry.
“With the bar they gave us, the window still opens at least 8 inches wide,” Terenzi said.
He squeezed his head and upper body out of the barred window to demonstrate.
“Next time they update the halls, I hope they get a better locking mechanism,” he said.
LSA freshman Lai Ho also lives on the ground floor, but her room was not broken into. In addition to the window bar, Ho’s window was fitted with a side-mounted window lock. She said it is the only side-mounted lock on the floor that she knows of.
Although nothing was stolen from Terenzi’s room, he said he was still distraught about the break-ins.
“It’s helpless to know that people have totally free reign in my room,” he said. “This is my home. It’s helpless.”