What will it take for the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa to amp up its campus security?
Last Wednesday, when I got back to my Hale Wainani apartment, my roommate told me that someone had stolen the Sector 9 skateboard he had received as a Christmas gift.
The theft happened either late the previous night or early that morning. We couldn’t figure out how the burglar could have gotten inside our apartment – we weren’t stupid enough to leave the door open because no one was home.
In the morning, my suitemate examined our front window. After roughly jiggling the locked window back and forth, it opened up.
This is where a locking pin would come in use. However, the pin didn’t fit in the hole designed for it, so it hung uselessly to the side. The burglar could easily have opened the window and stepped through. We decided that the malfunctioning lock was probably to blame, considering this wasn’t the first time this had happened.
A few weeks before finals last semester, our apartment was broken into. Burglars had slashed open the screen on the outside of the window, stepped through and took about $2,000 worth of electronics – an HDTV, Nintendo Wii, Panasonic Blu-ray surround-sound system, and Sony PS3, along with games, wires and other accessories.
We called Campus Security and HPD. After taking fingerprints and written accounts of the scene, they left. We never heard from them again.
Michael Immings, the residence life coordinator for Hale Wainani, sympathized with us and advised us that renter’s insurance, not the University of Hawai‘i, would have covered the cost of the stolen goods.
My roommates and I tried arguing that our window’s lock didn’t work, but Campus Security turned the idea down. Nervous about an impending Chinese oral final exam in 30 minutes, I wearily accepted the fact that we would never get to see our stuff again and that it was our fault for not keeping a close-enough eye on our stuff.
But this most recent theft, with evidence of a crappy window lock even after we had Pilikia, the dorm maintenance team, come in and repair our screen and install extra security measures on our locks, has pissed me off.
Pilikia’s idea of installing extra security on our windows was to take a roll of painter’s tape and spread it across the lock, as if that would ward away burglars. Considering that the tape could only be seen from the inside of the apartment, and the ludicrous notion that some flimsy tape would stop anyone stronger than a 5-year-old, I’d say the maintenance team was teasing us. You can imagine my response when I saw the tape there. It didn’t stay up long.
So when my roommate had his skateboard stolen last week, he chose not to do anything about it. He let it go, accepting the reality he will probably never see his $200 skateboard again, especially since Sector 9 is such a popular brand, and asking every student where their skateboard is from would take eons.
But should we hide in our rooms with our tails between our legs, guarding our valuables? Why are we paying for a living room and kitchen if it’s not a safe and secure environment? Why do we pay for Campus Security if things like this slide by? Why are there no security camera systems set in place, especially in open areas like Hale Noelani and Wainani?
Most importantly, what if the burglars had come into our rooms while we were sleeping?
Before the event, we would leave our bedroom doors open because the locks on the door required us to walk around the apartment with our cardkey, which seemed like too much extra protection. You can be sure that we sleep with our bedroom doors closed now.
After having his HDTV, Wii and skateboard stolen, my roommate, who wishes to remain anonymous, will not be returning to the dorms next year.
Call us stupid if you want. Laugh, scoff or pity our situation. But you should know about the events taking place right here on the UH campus: stolen bikes, kids with BB guns shooting passersby, people having their iPhones ripped away from them. Do not take your safety for granted.
The dorms are no safer to live than anywhere off campus, and faulty locks and painter’s tape may be all that guards against crime.
So if you have doubts about being able to safely lock up at night, do something about it.