CHRISTMAS BREAK (INS)
When December rolls around, biology midterms and theology papers fade from memory as the nearly 51,000 students at the University of Texas at Austin head home for the holidays. The Christmas season known to most as the season of giving, the communities neighboring campus experiences the season of taking, as break ins increase with vulnerable student housing.
For University of Texas senior Ashley Vaughan, a night at her West Campus apartment during Christmas break turned out to be far from a relaxing break from family.
“There was nobody in town. My boyfriend had been over that night watching movies. He left around 11 and I was pretty tired so I didn’t bother to get up and lock the door after he left. I just fell asleep,” Vaughan said. “Around 2 o’clock in them morning, I woke up and there was a figure opening the door that wasn’t my boyfriend or any of my roommates. I freaked out and yelled at him and he just said “Okay I’m sorry” and left.”
The Crest at Pearl, where Vaughan was living when the incident occurred, had several other accounts of people breaking in during Christmas break.
“People were definitely gone, campus was empty it was the middle of winter break,” Vaughan said. “I was very shaken after it.”
While Vaughan was worried about her safety for the remainder of the year, she decided not to mention the break-in to her parents. She knew they already worried about her living on her own and she didn’t want to worry them even more with something that they could not do anything about.
Some students choose to sublease their apartments during the month-long hiatus from school in attempt to earn money to help pay for the already inflated housing costs to live near campus. For Raven Cortright, a senior at the University of Texas, her attempt to save money ended up costing her.
“We were renting a washer and dryer through the apartment complex,” Cortright said. “We paid $50 a month to have the washer and dryer there. We ended up getting a subleaser while we traveled and somehow, the person that sublet from us stole our washer and dryer and ditched everything.”
In addition to stealing the washer and dryer from Cortright’s home off of Red River and Dean Keeton, the subleaser was not paying rent.
“Not only was our washer dryer stolen, which was apparently $5000 that the rental company tried to charge us for, but they also tried to charge us for all of the months of rent that he didn’t pay.”
In 2016, there were 139 reported burglaries in the 78705 zip code, which consists of West and North campus. Students who have been affected by these burglaries are learning the importance of safety precautions when it comes to their houses and apartments.
According to UTPD Officer William Pieper, many of the break ins could be preventing by students being more vigilant about locking doors.
“One of the easiest ways for a burglar to make entry into a residence is through an open door,” Pieper said in an interview with The Daily Texan. “Most burglaries occur because a door or window was left unlocked.”
After her incident, Vaughan says she is really particular about locking doors now.
“I hate having the door unlocked, even if it is the middle of the day,” Vaughan said. “If I am home, the door is locked, when I leave the door is locked.”
According to Pieper, Vaughan is not the only one who realized the need for locking doors until a little too late.
“A lot of students feel like they don’t need to [lock their doors], and sadly they don’t realize that they need to until after they’ve been a victim of a theft,” Pieper said.
BURGLARY PREVENTION TIPS FOR STUDENTS
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
STUDENT STORIES
“Don’t rely on statistics alone. Statistics can lead to false impressions. Gather a variety of information. Visit neighborhoods and observe the surroundings.” from APD Website