It has been three weeks since the semester started and the Clery Act emails about theft on Vassar’s campus have already begun to roll into our collective inboxes. I have been seeing these emails for six years, first through my husband’s Vassar email and now through my own. Last year we received six emails, almost all of them detailing burglaries into unlocked cars, rooms or Town Houses (THs) and Terrace Apartments (TAs). I have two responses to these emails. One is funny, the other incredibly serious. I would like to preface this joke by saying that mistakes happen and there is no real judgment in the following statements, just light-hearted humor about what has become a time-honored Vassar tradition. If you had something stolen from an unlocked car or room or TA/TH…no you did not. You gave someone a gift. You paid for a mistake the same way you would pay for a parking ticket. Consider this an opportunity to practice the giving spirit of communism. Consider this an opportunity to let go of material possessions tying you down.
Okay, it is all out of my system now. Joking aside, these emails always spark genuine worry in my heart for my classmates. Every single one of you has been incredibly lucky that all that happened was a stolen car or possession. From a personal safety standpoint, an unlocked door is more than just an opportunity to steal something, it is a risk of bodily harm to the people who exist on the other side of the door. According to the FBI, someone is home during almost 30 percent of burglaries. Of the burglaries interrupted, more than 25 percent become victims of a violent crime, and 67 percent of victims report their mental health being affected in the aftermath of a break-in, according to Safewise. People experience trouble with depression, inability to sleep, fear of repeated break-ins, etc. It sucks, it can be traumatizing, and as much as I joked earlier, it is not your fault.
So how can we improve campus safety? Every time someone successfully breaks in on this campus, it invites more attempts later. The facts are that most break-ins occur between noon and 4 p.m., according to Safewise. This is on trend with the Vassar campus because many classes and activities fit into that time block. The average burglary takes between eight and 10 minutes, according to Alarms.com. More than enough time when the shortest walk from dorm to classroom is roughly five to 10 minutes. All of these statistics and more were compiled into an easy-to-access website by Insurify.com as a safety guide for homeowners, by the way. In most cases the primary bedroom is the first stop in a break-in, but for those targeting Vassar dorms, single rooms become one-stop shops for quick theft. Since the majority of students are away from their rooms and vehicles during the noon to 4 p.m. window, it is important to consider the easiest and most cost-effective ways to avoid a break-in: locking your doors. I know that keys are bulky and easy to lose. I know that the Vassar bubble is very real, and it can feel very safe. I know that you may be a very safe person with a roommate who always forgets to lock up behind themselves. I get it. I spent seven years in the military where “there was only one thief, everyone else was just trying to get their shit back.” I lived with a roommate that always left the doors unlocked and left her keys behind when she went out. Speaking from personal experience, I got really good at locking my stuff in my closet and I slept with a metal softball bat next to my bed. You do not want to do that. It is not a fun way to live. It is stressful and detrimental to your overall quality of life. So lock your dang doors. Start building the habit now. Perfect the wallet-phone-keys pocket slap everytime you leave your room. If you live in a SoCo, TA or TH, lock the door to your personal room along with the front and back doors. Do whatever you need to do to make sure your doors are locked. On a campus with as much foot traffic as Vassar, a locked door can be enough to deter an attempted break-in. It will give you better peace of mind and better personal safety. Finally, as a mother, speaking on behalf of all mothers, lock your doors so we can get some sleep tonight instead of worrying about your safety.