Electronics Stolen From Quincy, HBS

In two separate incidents on Tuesday night, more than $10,000 in computer equipment was stolen from Quincy House and from a construction trailer next to the Harvard Business School.

None of the equipment has been recovered and the events do not seem to be connected, Peggy McNamara, spokeswoman for the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD).

According to McNamara, the equipment stolen near the Business School belonged to the contractors, and it was unclear whether the trailers—which are set up outside the Business School’s Baker Library during renovations—were locked.

On the same night as the construction trailer theft, two laptops, an iPod digital music player, and a passport were stolen from a room in Quincy House, according to Nancy K. Brown ’05, who owned one of the laptops.

Although she was in New York when the incident occurred, she said that her roommates were probably in and out of the room, not paying attention to the door.

This is the second computer theft this semester in Quincy. In late September, a Sony Vaio laptop was stolen from a student dorm. It is unclear whether the door was locked during that incident.

Judith F. Chapman—the tutor for the entryway where the thefts occurred and the acting senior tutor of Quincy House—said that many students leave their doors propped open.

Even if only one door is open, she said, an intruder could access the entire suite and possibly other suites on the floor through a series of connecting doors.

Chapman noted, however, that students continued to keep their doors open even after Tuesday’s theft.

“Since this has happened, there are still doors propped open,” she said. “Yesterday, I found a door propped open with a hanger. I knocked, I rang the bell, but no one responded. So I took the hangar out and closed the door.”

Soon after the theft, the building manager sent out a warning e-mail to the house list.

Before this incident, Brown didn’t think it a big deal to leave her door open. But now, she said, she will lock her door.

“Better to be locked out than getting your stuff stolen,” she said.

McNamara, the HUPD spokeswoman, urged students to lock doors even if they leave the room for a moment.

“If they’re going to be leaving their rooms, they need to lock their rooms,” she said. “Even if it’s five minutes—running to the dining hall or using the bathroom—students need to lock their doors.”

“If you see someone that doesn’t belong or makes you uncomfortable, give HUPD a call,” she added.