• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Missing: a large pineapple and two coconuts from last week’s themed dinner. (Five females from the residential halls needed piña coladas for their pre-party bash.)

Gone: three distinctive, red dollies from the Covel front desk. (Decidedly the perfect equipment for hauling off more loot.)

Stolen: potted plant after potted plant. (They wanted their own arboretum.)

These are only some examples of on-campus theft. Who are these thieves? And what techniques govern their looting and plundering?

A student who lives in Rieber Hall proudly displayed his room in a residential hall, accessorized with stolen goods.

“I am like a menace in the building,” he said.

The student is a poster “collector.” His walls are decorated with items ranging from a Caruso’s placard he took before the restaurant closed to a laminated Christian Bible Study sign he picked up on Bruin Walk.

“I try to go for the random look,” he explained. “I usually just take what I want in broad daylight.”

Acquiring a De Neve Plaza Commons floor mat was a slightly more difficult feat.

“At around 2 or 3 a.m., when nobody was around, a buddy and I went into De Neve. I rolled up the rug and (my friend) opened the door,” he said.

With a smirk, the student said that aside from his self-described “dark and mysterious hobby,” he is a model citizen.

“I have never been written up. I am liked by my neighbors. My Resident Assistant adores me,” he asserted.

The student said he rationalizes the stealing by assuming any object he takes will be replaced.

“I would never steal from a store,” he said, alluding to the fact that his father, who once owned a One Dollar Store, frequently caught shoplifters. “But this school is so large and so wasteful that, honestly, me taking a few things here and there doesn’t really matter.”

He used to take photos off of other people’s door and walls, but said that he has stopped this practice because he was starting to feel guilty and feared “bad karma.”

Another UCLA thief, a second-year male student who lives off-campus, displayed no such trace of repentance. He paraded a room in his fraternity house that was filled with furniture covered with somewhat tacky fabric that would look quite familiar to any dorm resident.

The two sofas and one armchair were taken from the Evergreen building in De Neve, which is conveniently located near Gayley Avenue and the fraternity row.

“If you pull hard enough, the door (to Evergreen) will open without you swiping a Bruin card,” the student revealed.

“A couple of the guys and I go (to get the furniture) at night. We cover it with sheets and carry it off,” he continued.

He noted that there are plenty of opportunities when the De Neve lounges are empty, with no one to witness the crimes.

Birch is his new target because it has leather furniture. He already has at least one leather couch, but would not mind having more.

When asked to comment on De Neve security, Residence Hall Manager Steve Dundish said word was received about a year ago that some doors in De Neve could be forced open. Maintenance promptly inspected and retrofitted all doors necessary.

“Now there is no way you can pry them open,” he said.

To prevent theft, additional precautions are taken.

“All chairs and couches are marked and given specific numbers so that (if they are missing) we can identify them when they are found,” said Dundish, adding “All that can be done is being done.”

Despite these efforts, Dundish noted that a 60-inch television was recently taken from the De Neve Commons Recreation Room, which is accessible from the exterior via card swipe.

“The UCPD is aware of theft in the building,” said Dundish. “Police reports have been filed and if (the missing items) are found all necessary steps by the UCPD will be taken.”