A Case of Taken Identity
An employee at David Gardner Hall accidentally gave a student’s wallet to the wrong person. Hazel Staten, a freshman in psychology, said she left her wallet in the main office on Sept. 28. The next day, they called to let her know it was there. But when she went to pick up it, they’d already given to it someone else.
U Police Sgt. Garth Smith said the staff member had done a “quick check” of the ID in the wallet and thought it matched the person picking it up. Inside were a credit card and $100 in cash. Staten was able to alert her bank before there was any activity on the card but is “pretty irritated” about the situation.
She wishes the employee vetted the stranger who took her wallet by asking the person to confirm what was inside of it or checking the name with an alternate form of ID. Staten feels the staff member showed an “unsettling” lack of basic scrutiny.
“They could have handled it in a better way,” she said.
Police officers tried to review security footage, but no cameras were pointed at the office during the incident. Staten is asking the university for a reimbursement of the $100 but has not gotten a response.
Coming Unhinged at the Library
A glass door fell off its hinges at the Marriott Library on Sept. 29, injuring three people. The two students and one staff member suffered minor scratches and denied medical attention, Smith said. Installation crews working on the second floor above Mom’s Café believe they bumped a bolt, causing the door to fall and shatter.
Underage Drinking at Williams Building
Security officers discovered four male students under the age of 21 drinking beer outside the Williams Building. Smith said the students received university-level referrals and basic criminal charges for the Sept. 28 case, which occurred after 11 p.m. The building, which houses the U’s Department of Pediatrics in Research Park, is located above the Sage Point dorms.
Duel between Car and Wooden Spool
A large wooden spool — used on construction sites to store electrical wire — rolled down a hill on the northwest side of campus and hit a car on Wolcott Street. Smith is unsure why the spool broke loose from its location and had no estimate for the damage on the 2001 Acura. No one was injured in the Sept. 22 incident.
Skateboarders Rail Against Driver
Five skateboarders yelled obscenities at and flipped off a driver who accidentally ran over and broke one of their skateboards. The students were in the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts and Education Complex, where Smith said it is not permitted to ride. The group left before U Police arrived near 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 24.
@CourtneyLTanner