In one of the largest incidents of residence hall theft in recent, six students reported missing items from their dorm rooms on Oct. 21.

The thefts occurred in Turck, Wallace and Bigelow halls. The victims, all of whose rooms were unlocked, mainly lost laptops and cash, according to Director of Safety and Security Terry Gorman.

The day after the thefts were reported, the Security Office posted a number of pink security alerts around campus notifying the community. Gorman said that in response to the alert, multiple students called in with descriptions of suspicious people in the residence halls on the day of the incident. The Security Office issued an update to the security alert on Oct. 27 with vague descriptions of two suspects.

According to a number of students, on the day of the incident, an African-American male described as young, tall and heavy-set knocked on many doors in the residence halls, striking up conversation with residents who answered. Turck resident Matthew Stone ’08 said the suspect acted as though he was on the way to a class, stopping to make small talk. About an hour later, according to Stone, floor-mate Misha Coleman ’08 returned to her unlocked room to find that her laptop was missing.

Stone and others reported seeing the suspect again later in the week, but no additional thefts were reported.

Gorman indicated that it is unlikely that the police will apprehend the person or people responsible for the thefts, given the nature of the crime and the lack of information about possible suspects. While the college does not assume financial responsibility for the stolen items, the homeowners insurance of the affected students’ parents may cover the losses, as is true of Coleman.

College officials do not have enough information to come to many conclusions about the thefts. Officials are not certain that the thefts were all related, nor do they know how many people were involved. However, the administration has one clear message for students: lock your doors when you are out of the room or sleeping.

Gorman considers most residence hall thefts to be crimes of opportunity because dorm rooms are left unlocked so frequently. In the vast majority of on-campus thefts, Gorman said, there is no sign of forced-entry. These six recent thefts have not been the only thefts this year—an on-campus cottage on Macalester Street reported a theft a few weeks ago.

“Most students think of their residence hall room as their bedroom,” Gorman said. “They think that if the outside door is locked—their room is safe. We consider the residence hall rooms as apartments.” If the doors were all locked, Gorman predicted that this type of crime would be far less common on campus.

Why do students persist in keeping their doors unlocked? In general, Macalester students are more trusting than they should be, Dean of Students Laurie Hamre said. Given their impression that there is a very low threat of burglary, many students simply do not think it is worth the added effort to lock their doors, she said.

Jennifer Feigal ’07, who was sleeping in her room while her roommate’s laptop was stolen, said that there is a strong sense of trust within the Macalester community, “You feel like you know everybody,” she said. However, Feigal suggested this trust often ignores the reality that Macalester is in an urban location, which brings with it certain risks such as theft from outsiders.

Hamre points out echoed this point, saying that Macalester residence halls are not exempt from outside crime. “There is a false sense of security,” she said. “There is no bubble around Macalester.”

Many students said that people have been more conscientious about locking their doors since the incident, although they agree that they will likely return to their old ways before long.

Hamre said that the college plans to install auto-locking door locks in all residence halls by next fall in an effort to recompensate for student habits. She said that despite a strong message from the college regarding the importance of locking doors, too many students continue to leave their doors unlocked, and these new locks would automatically solve the problem.