BRITTANY YEAROUT
Assistant News Editor
Secured behind locked doors in Pepperdine’s Center for Communication and Business during winter break, the telecommunication department’s camera equipment was thought to be safe. However, $15,000 worth of mini-DV cameras is missing from a locked room within the department, which is only accessible to permitted students, faculty and employees.
Five of eight mini-DV cameras went missing sometime between Dec. 17 and Jan. 3, according to Edward Young, one of the two investigators looking into the theft from the Department of Public Safety.
Jon Weber, administrative assistant of Insurance and Risk Management, said the cameras will not be replaced because they don’t meet the threshold for the university’s insurance deductibility. Weber would not comment on the deductibility.
The investigation process involves tracking leads to see if they provide any proof.
“It certainly leaves you with the impression that either someone had a key or the location wasn’t secured properly,” Young said. “So we are also trying to nail that down, but there isn’t any evidence that force was utilized to gain entrance into the place. Nothing was pried open, kicked open, forced open or busted open.”
However, according to Wade Brown, director of broadcasting services, all of the security measures were in place from preventing the cameras from being stolen.
Some of those security measures include a main entrance that only telecommunication majors, students that need to get in for classes and anybody who has special permission can get in with the swipe of their student identification card.
However, the hours are only between 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and if students need extra hours to work they can check out an access pass. The equipment room, which holds the portable cameras, microphones, cables and batteries, for example, has a separate key and card access from the one for the main entrance, according to Wade.
Neither Young nor Brown would tell the Graphic who has access to the equipment room or other specifics to the security that the telecommunication department uses, such as cameras or an alarm system.
As the department looks for new ways to accommodate student needs, such as possibly leasing cameras, students are struggling to keep up with projects as well as Newswaves productions.
Newswaves is a student-run TV news program which is broadcast to the local communities of Malibu and Calabasas.
Sophomore Mike Baida, who needs to film this weekend for a project, said he now has to wait two weeks for a camera.
“It is really bad because we have time limits and time constraints and it is only the beginning of the semester,” Baida said. “I can only imagine what it will be like at the end of the semester when everyone is on crunch time.”
Sophomore Greg Lee said he is also having a hard time getting cameras for Newswaves.
“Since we don’t have that many cameras out it is hard to get footage, thus the quality of our shows goes a bit downhill,” Lee said.
Maintaining security and accessibility is a difficult process for the university, according to Dr. Robert Chandler, chair of Communication Division.
“Obviously people are trying to make things as reasonably secure as possible and it is always a challenge to figure out security,” Chandler said. “In general, security is important to us but we are also a university and an educational institution, we are not a fortress, we are not Fort Knox, and so we have to have some degree of accessibility.”
In a situation involving high-value items, Young said he certainly will review what security systems and programs are in effect.
“We are looking into all the avenues that have opened themselves up to us at this point in time and hopefully what we do will prevent any future problems,” he said.
According to Young, one of Pepperdine’s biggest problems has always been theft. In March 2004, $10,000 worth of computer parts, including stripped hard drives and memory chips, was stolen from the CCB. In Aug. of 2006 expensive broadcast equipment used by the telecomm department was also stolen.
“Certainly theft occurring in any place on campus has an effect on the whole community because that means we have a dishonest person on campus,” Young said. “And just because a person went to location A, it doesn’t mean the person will not go to location B.”
If anyone has any information that may aid Public Safety in following up with this incident, they can always use Public Safety’s anonymous tip line at ext. 7634.
01-17-2008