"It's not unusual," said Chief of Police John Carter in reference to the fact the thefts over break. "[But] any thefts over a break period are unacceptable to us," he added.
"Anytime anyone goes into a room, it's a sense of violation," said Aimee Koch '01, who reported the theft of two bookbags, a sweatshirt and a blanket to Campus Police.
Items removed from the room in Mayo-Smith, which belongs to sophomores Bryan Adkins, Nicholas Brown, Stephen George, Michael Petrino and Michihiro Tsuda, include clothing, two mini-disc players, and a laptop computer.
Adkins said that the room was locked when the residents left for break. He said that he later discovered that the lock was broken and the room could be opened easily.
"You could open it with a credit card," said Adkins. "It was a defective locking mechanism."
Koch also discovered two wooden bowls left behind in her room. According to Koch, the police suggested that the break-in could have been the result of homeless people looking for a place to stay or kids looking for a place to smoke marijuana.
"My window was wide open and it was clear someone had been there," said Koch.
While the entrance to Koch's room was through a window, burglars entered the room of Gabriela Rosal '01 through a door. It was not clear whether entry was forced or not, according to Rosal, who reported a walkman and two cameras missing.
Rosal also said that police confiscated a set of 20 small keys left in the hallway outside her room.
"We might ask to get our locks changed," said Rosal, who shares a living space with three other suitemates.
Carter said that campus police confiscated a lock set from one of the rooms to determine whether there were signs of forced entry.
"There were no signs of forced entry in two of the cases," said Carter. "In a couple of the rooms, nothing was taken even though there were valuables."