I was under the impression that my college campus was safe or at least my dorm room was. During the 2008 Thanksgiving break, which was all of exactly two days, the campus housing was burglarized. So imagine my paranoia during the 2008/2009 Christmas/New Year break. I did not feel safe. I felt as though my room could be broken into at any moment whether I was there or not.
I returned to my campus dorm room to find out I had every reason to be paranoid. I noticed that I was having a harder time getting into my apartment than usual and that’s when it hit me – my dorm room had been broken into. Disgust just overwhelmed me. I called the campus police.
It took them maybe five or ten minutes to get there. I was not keeping track, mind you I was still in a state of bewilderment at that point. I walked outside and had realized my neighbor’s front door was open. I knew they had been broken into as well.
When Officer Walker arrived, he came up and asked are your doors still locked? And I said “Yeah,” and he told me I wasn’t robbed.
I was relieved. So I was right, I almost got broken in to. At this point I’m thanking God that not only was I not here but thank God they did not succeed. I told the officer about my neighbor’s next door history and I brought it to his attention that they had been robbed. He said “That is funny” and that a CA called him the other day and said she heard a loud thumping, and that he surveyed the area and did not come across anything strange. I asked, “You did not see the decorations on my door crinkled because someone tried to kick it in, and you did not see my neighbor’s door open?” He said no.
I noticed that this guy was too calm and I asked him why are you so mundane? He was taking my info off my driver’s license and he goes on to say “This type of stuff happens all the time on college campuses.” I asked what are you guys doing to prevent this? How come you’re not patrolling this area? He said “It’s only me and another officer there today and we can’t do that because there is a lot of housing on campus. If he sat there at Phase III and the other Officer Thomas (who had just arrived at this point who was outside looking for apartments in the area that had been vandalized) sits at Phases I and II it would not work because when he gets a call he has to leave.”
Now the whole time I’m talking to Officer Walker he is not reassuring me or putting me at ease or anything. He goes on to tell me that if they would have tried kicking a couple more times they would have gotten in. So I’m like what if I was here. He said, “Oh, no, sweetheart, these people watch and clock you. They know who’s gone and they look in your windows when your blinds are open. Plus they look for open windows.” He went into my room and was telling me what they might have gone for like my radio and telling me I was smart for taking my TV and stuff.
At this point I’m feeling like the crooks could come back. They now know that they’ve been working on my door and now it’s ready to buckle, what’s next? He said to call maintenance and I said, “What? Can’t you do that? My apartment was almost broken into my doors no good.” He then tried to contact my CA and I informed him that my CA graduated in December so then he calls the Manager of University Village housing. I asked for her number and he said he can’t give it to me and he said I should have it. Then he looks at the paper that I have with a list of campus contacts and says to call University Village “She’s not here though I called on her cell phone.” I then asked if he could call maintenance, but he said they were closed and that these people do have a life. I said, “I understand that but what’s the protocol when someone’s door gets broken into or kicked in?”
At this point I reached my mom on her cell phone and she’s telling me get back in my car and come home before night fall. Officer Walker said he’d call maintenance tomorrow.
This morning I drove back to campus to work and called maintenance for my housing and of course I did not receive an answer. I called the police office on campus and a lady tried a cell phone I believe she had for a maintenance person, and they told her they did in fact come look at my door the other day and that they were headed to Houston now to get parts to repair it. I asked her some questions, she said she did not know and was unable to answer.
We need doors that are less easy to kick down or some type of security system in doors or better patrolling at night closer towards the a.m. but something needs to be done. I personally have not talked to the maintenance men and I don’t want a makeshift door. I want them to replace my door completely.
So good news and bad news. Monday they repaired my door and I had a brand new one put on, but I still did not feel safe.
This morning I get back and I come to my room and I’m paralyzed by emotions and fears. My bedroom window was shattered. Plus my front door had been kicked again and the muddy footprint was evident on my white door. I panicked and came to work bawling and had help calling the police from my great bosses Mayor Jackson and Mrs. Renee Williams. Mrs. Williams accompanied me back to my room to wait for the cops because I did not want to see the ransacked apartment. OK so at this point I’m still thanking God that I was not here and that they did not really get anything because it’s just material stuff anyway.
This time they broke my window, unlocked it, went through my room, kicked down my roommate’s door and walked out the front door. I don’t know what to say or think, I don’t know if the burglars were upset that they were unable to get in last time and I repaired my door so they broke the window or what. The saga continues. I cleared out my room of course this morning and I let the housing office know I want a new room. They said I’m number 45 of the people who want to change rooms. My stand is either give me a new room or give me back my rent because I put up with entirely too much and I know I’m a good tenant.
This was truly a devastating beginning to the 2009 spring semester. Like I said, I just feel bad for the other individuals arriving to campus to be hit by the same reality. The sad part is that half the people I had to deal with in regards to my situation did not care, because it was not them. So I just want to thank the entire Office of Student Affairs and Institutional Relations especially Dr. Lauretta Byars, Dr. Billingsley, Mrs. Williams, my coworker Chasity Long and Mayor Jackson because they truly helped me cope with this unfortunate incident.