Recent break-ins on Greek Row are prompting a serious look at a larger problem.
Two strangers entered the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house Dec. 28 and the Sigma Chi and Sigma Nu fraternity houses Jan. 2. The incidents were reported to be unrelated.
The strangers attempted to steal textbooks and technology, failing each time. One of them also committed a personal crime against a student, said Jay Wilgus, assistant dean of students. Wilgus would not disclose the nature of the incident.
The intrusions might be the symptom of a problem on Greek Row, said Annie Nebeker Christensen, dean of students. In response to the intrusions, the greeks will consider installing card-reader locks on their doors. In each incident, the intruder walked in through an unlocked door. Students leave their doors unlocked or propped open, which invites opportunistic criminals, Wilgus said.
“It’s an issue I see persist on Greek Row as well as the dorms,” Wilgus said.
On Jan. 2, Christopher Memmott walked downstairs to the first floor of the Sigma Nu fraternity house to see one such opportunist rifling through a backpack, according to a police report. The stranger, described as being in his 20s, caught sight of the fraternity member and immediately said he was sorry.
The stranger also said he was “here with Ryan,” a name Memmott recognized as a fellow fraternity member who was away for Winter Break, according to the report. Then Memmott recognized the book bag in the stranger’s hands as his own.
“Is that my shit?” he asked, the report said. The stranger apologized again, dropped the fraternity member’s bag and ran out the door. Memmott chased the intruder, but soon lost sight of him.
Witnesses also described a middle-aged intruder on separate occasions. He does not appear to be of any relation to the first, Wilgus said.
If the Greek Row houses installed the card-reader locks, the locks would require residents to swipe their student ID in order to gain entrance to the building, a system already used in the Residence Halls. However, the systems are expensive and the Greeks would have to raise the money themselves, Wilgus said.
Each card swiper would cost $300 to $400, Christensen said. However, the card swipe machines also require a network, said Barb Remsburg, director of Housing and Residential Education. It’s difficult to estimate how much it would cost the greeks to install the complete security system, since the network installation varies widely between every setup scenario, Remsburg said.
Greek Row might require more than the card swipe systems. Officer’s Circle relies only on keys, but rarely ever has any intrusions or reported thefts, said Scott Folsom, chief of the U Police Department. The Residence Halls installed automatic locking doors, but thefts continue to occur.
Thieves probably still find their way through locked doors because the residents leave their door propped open when they aren’t at home, said Capt. Lynn Mitchell with U Police. The greeks will be reminded to lock their doors, or see history repeat itself, Christensen said.