It was a simple question, but the three women looked at each other from across the room unsure.\n"I don't know how it's locked. I think it's just a normal lock," senior Ashley Ruivivar said as she sat on a large beige leather sofa, her legs tucked underneath her body. \nHer roommate, senior Emily Potempa, agreed. \n"We just use a normal key to get in," she said.\nWhen the women decided to move out of Delta Zeta for their senior year, they began the familiar house and apartment search students face as they move off campus. The five roommates compiled a list of requirements for their new home, but high security wasn't included.\nThe building the women decided on was an old church converted into spacious apartments.\n"We're lucky we live in the Sunday School wing," senior Lauren Hulse said. "We don't have the stained glass windows some of the apartments do. It would be kind of creepy."\nPerhaps their nonchalance is because of the building's former use, but the roommates agree they feel safe. Dressed in sweatshirts and wrapped up in blankets to battle their overzealous air conditioner, they each take up a couch in their den and discuss their apartment.\n"We feel very safe here," Ruivivar said. The others nodded.\nWhile many students living in apartments say they feel comfortable, Bloomington Police Department Capt. Joe Qualters said students aren't always as secure as they think.\n"There appears to be a belief that this is a small town with no crime and/or that fellow students will not take advantage of one another," Qualters said. "While our crime rates are low, there are those students and others who will steal from others if the opportunity presents itself."\nAngela Nevins is the property manager for Abodes, Inc., a local company that owns apartment communities. Nevins said their properties come equipped with a dead bolt in every door and doesn't think too much more is necessary.\n"I think overall Bloomington is a pretty safe place," she said. "What we offer in terms of security is comparable to what most complexes offer."\nLike in the properties owned by Abodes, Inc., students living in Hoosier Courts are protected with a dead bolt on the door. \nBut Bloomington is not without crime -- and whether students live on or off campus, IU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said it is important for students to protect themselves.\n"People should secure everything," he said.\nWhen it comes to safety hazards, parties, window peepers, cars and intruders are among the biggest culprits.
Parties\nQualters said one of the biggest issues involving students and security has to do with excessive consumption of alcohol.\n"It factors heavily into many of the calls we answer involving students," he said.\nMany calls come from students who wake up after hosting parties to find their valuables stolen.\n"I know my friend had a party where a bunch of his DVDs got stolen," Potempa said. "He was pretty mad."\nQualters said he has had reports of televisions, video game systems and computers stolen.\n"We haven't had a party yet, but if we did, it would be something small where we knew everyone," Ruivivar said.\nPotempa smiled. \n"Actually, I talked to my friend and he said he took one of the picture frames from the hallway. I didn't even notice it was gone until he told me. I thought it was weird he took it because it had daisies on it and he's a boy," Potempa said,\n"I know people who live in the (Varsity) Villas, and they get stuff stolen all the time. It was like the people knew where the stuff was," Hulse said.\nAccording to IUPD's Web site, one measure to protect against this is to record the brand names and serial numbers of bicycles, TVs, stereos and computers.
Window peepers\nPotempa, Ruivivar and Hulse said they make sure to close the blinds to protect from potential "peeping Toms."\n"When people are driving by, they look at the windows that have stained glass," Hulse said.\nBut Qualters said "peeping Toms" are a problem in Bloomington because it is so densely populated. But students can protect themselves by simply closing their blinds.\n"The (mini-)blinds," Qualters said, "should be turned in such a manner so that someone cannot look into a room."\nQualters said for those who live in sub-level rooms or a room where someone can look down into the apartment, blinds should be inverted or turned "upward" instead of down. The height of the window would also determine how you want to close the blinds.\n"The best thing would be to experiment yourself or have a roommate do it for you," he said. "The idea is to reduce or eliminate the ability for someone to be able to see inside."
Intruders\n"I feel safer in an apartment than I would in a house," Hulse said. "There are too many doors to worry about." \nQualters said leaving doors unlocked for roommates is not a good idea because they've responded to cases where intoxicated people enter unlocked homes or apartments thinking they are either home or at a friend's house. He said they get lost and disoriented because of the alcohol. \nThe typical scenario: A resident who stays home and who has left the door unlocked expecting a roommate. Instead, he or she receives an unexpected guest and is scared to death when they are awakened in the middle of the night by a drunk person wandering around their house or apartment.\n"We did that last night for you," Ruivivar said to her roommates. "Did you guys even know? No, I'm not too concerned about that."\nQualters said officers often receive calls from residents mistaking their roommates returning home late at night for intruders. \n"There have been those times when burglaries and thefts have occurred because a residence was left unlocked," he said. "Residences should be locked and all roommates should be made to use their key to come and go.\nLast year, this issue yielded deadly circumstances. \nIn November 2003, Michael McKinney, a 21-year-old junior at Ball State University, was fatally shot when police responded to a burglary report call. Blood tests later found McKinney had a blood-alcohol content of 0.34 percent, almost four times as high as Indiana's legal limit of 0.08.
Cars\nQualters said some people leave items of value, such as CDs, money, a purse or books, in a vehicle and find that they've been a victim of a theft from their vehicle. \n"This happens many times in the densely populated student apartment complexes," Qualters said.\n"I definitely lock my car," Ruivivar said. "But it does feel safer since we have our own parking lot."\nHulse and Potempa said they both lock their cars too, but Hulse admitted if they had a driveway, she might not be as prone to locking.\n"Really?" Ruivivar said. "I even lock my car at home, even though I don't think I have anything worth stealing."\nPotempa's eyes widened.\n"Yeah, I always lock my car," she said.\nAccording to the IUPD, if you have a car parked on campus, remove all valuables from the interior and secure them in the trunk or inside your room. Students should also make sure the doors are locked and the windows are all the way up. If possible, park it under a good light source and check on it daily. \n-- Contact senior writer Kathleen Quilligan at kquillig@indiana.edu.
