Wednesday, November 5, 1997
School adjusts to major computer theft
CRIME More than one perpetrator responsible for break in, police
say
By Brooke Bridgford
Daily Bruin Contributor
More than $70,000 worth of computers and related equipment were
stolen from the Graduate School of Education and Information
Studies (GSE&IS) still remains missing, university police
(UCPD) said.
Sometime between Friday evening and Saturday morning, the
weekend of Oct. 17 and 18, over 30 computers were taken from labs,
offices and classrooms in the building.
The list of stolen computers includes Power Macintosh computers,
Gateway Pentium computers, Silicon Graphics computers and Macintosh
laptops.
This has been the first large burglary on campus in several
years, police said. Until recently, there has been nothing more
than an occasional stolen laptop, but nothing of this
magnitude.
The GSE&IS has been hit hard by the magnitude of this
burglary. The building houses classrooms, computer laboratories and
offices for five departments.
The two departments impacted the most were the Department of
Library and Information Science and the Center for Study of
Evaluation.
The burglary has disrupted many of the students and faculty
because of lost research data. Recreating the data has caused many
delays. Students have lost lab time and could not get their
homework done on time.
Officials said that they are "making do" right now. They have
done some rearranging so students can get their work done. They are
also investigating ways to replace the equipment, but that will
take some time.
However, people in GSE&IS are optimistic.
"We have responded very quickly. The students have been
supportive and understanding. There had to be several changes made
in courses, but we are well on our way to recovery," said Michelle
Cloonan, associate professor of library and information
science.
The graduate school is offering a reward for information leading
to the arrest and prosecution of the suspect or suspects
responsible for this burglary.
Police are currently investigating the burglary. They suspect
that the crime was committed by someone with keys.
"There was no forced entry to the more than 12 secured rooms
that were entered during this burglary," said UCPD detective Terry
Brown.
There was more than one suspect and possibly more than two,
police said. The police also think the suspects may have gotten
away in a large white van.
The van was identified by a witness who saw it parked behind the
building during the time frame in which the burglaries were
committed. The van was identified by a witness as an early 1980s
Ford which resembles an Econoline. A notable feature of this van is
the dropped, large windows in the rear.