The temperature is starting to get hotter and students everywhere are getting restless, which could be the cause of the recent instances of vandalism around campus and Baldwin City.
Baldwin City Chief of Police Michael McKenna said last week, the police department received several calls from members of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority saying the tires in their cars were flat.
“After further investigation, we learned that the tires weren’t cut or damaged,” McKenna said. “Someone had let the air out of the tires by the valve stem.”
He said he remembered there being three calls from Zeta Tau Alpha, but there have been other cases of cars around town getting broken into.
McKenna said the Baldwin City police try to increase the number of officers on patrol at night this time of year because of heightened activity.
“As warm weather approaches, you traditionally see an increase in thefts and vandalism and other similar crimes,” McKenna said.
Junior Kelly Dawar said she thinks security this time of year should be heightened because more people seem to be walking around late at night to take a break from finals.
“On dead day, I think vandalism might occur because people are going to be drunk because they want to relieve stress,” Dawar said.
Sophomore Laura Poskochil, on the other hand, said she thinks the police don’t have much reason to heighten the level of security this time of year because everyone is so busy.
“I go out around three o’clock in the morning either just to take a break from studying or go to Kwik Shop and I’ve never felt in danger on campus or even in Baldwin,” Poskochil said.
Sophomore Tim Haynes said he feels a little threatened by vandalism, especially since he lives in a fraternity house. He said he had his car broken into in high school and ever since he locks his car and room whenever he gets the chance.
Haynes said he thinks the Baldwin City cops are too suspicious about the wrong kinds of people. He thinks they do a good job of watching out for possible vandalism at parties and bars, but not enough quiet vandalism.
“If the vandalism is just someone who quietly walks by a car and keys it or knifes a tire, the cops probably aren’t going to be keeping an eye out for a random person on the street,” Haynes said.
Dawar said she thinks sometimes the police overdo security, especially if they see that there’s a college student involved.
“I’ve heard of people who got backup called on them when they were pulled over for speeding just because they were a college student,” Dawar said.
Dawar said she doesn’t think the campus security does a good enough job, especially at night.
Haynes said he thinks the campus security does an excellent job of protecting the students and making sure things get locked up at night, but don’t really watch out for people walking around campus who mean to do harm.