On Friday, Sept. 9, two students were victims of theft on campus. After having a normal morning just like any other, freshmen Maya March and Blake Adkins returned to their room in Butler Hall to find the door wide open. On the inside there was clear evidence that the room had been searched and March found that many of her possessions, including a camera, a laptop and the money from her wallet, had gone missing.
March immediately went to the security office to report the incident to Campus and Community Safety Manager Karson Gragert who then contacted Director of Campus Safety Morrison Fraser, to handle the situation. According to Fraser the room showed no signs of forced entry which led him to believe that either the door was left unlocked or that the perpetrator had a key. March disagrees and believes that her room door looked as if it “had been tampered with.”
After the initial inspection, Fraser contacted the Carlinville Police Department in order to have the room investigated further. While there was an item sent off to be checked for fingerprints, there have been no results in discovering who committed the theft.
In an effort to bump up security after the incident, security student workers were advised to “watch and walk around the building [Butler] more,” said Fraser. March had noticed something odd the night before. While doing homework with her roommate in the parlor of Butler Hall with several of the items that would be taken the next day, she noted “There was a strange amount of people that did not belong in Butler.” While it is not uncommon to see students from across campus spending time with their friends in various dorm halls, March believed that something was just a bit off. She felt a sense of “violation” since her personal space had been invaded. “You could tell that the room had been gone through and stuff was dug around,” she said.
March had apprehensions about coming to Blackburn in the first place when she found out that none of the dorms or any of the buildings on campus had surveillance cameras. “The lack of cameras made me really nervous,” said March. Now she is sure that there should be cameras on campus to help with incidents of all types, including future thefts.
The college maintains a strict policy of not being liable for any items lost or stolen on campus; however, both March and her roommate were issued $200 checks by the college.
Despite the intensity of the incident, March has been able to return to her normal routine. She is not as concerned with the stolen possessions as she is with the stolen memories. March explained that her laptop contained photos of “a friend that passed away… and I have pictures of her and I on there that I can’t get back.” After the initial shock of the incident passed, she moved to a new room on campus due to no longer feeling safe in the room back in Butler. March’s soccer teammates have been very supportive and the game is a much needed distraction since the theft.
Fraser advises all students to “Lock your door, lock your door, lock your door,” to prevent incidents like this from happening in the future. He also urges anyone who sees suspicious activity to report it to him at (217) 854-5550 or campus security at (217) 825-3042 immediately.