Three cars in Appleby Residence Halls’ parking lot and one car at the Grandview Apartments near campus were broken into on Monday, Sept. 9. The break-ins resulted in the loss of over $2,000 worth of belongings, according to UNA’s Police Department Activity Log.

Chief of Police Bob Pastula said the break-ins were probably related.

“It looks like they were looking for car radios or something along those lines,” said Pastula.  “They stole one radio, some money out of another car and tried to get a couple of (more) radios out, but they weren’t successful.”

The case is still under investigation, Pastula said. He encourages students to call the police if they see abnormal activity and to keep their car doors locked.

UNA police are taking precautions to keep further break-ins from occurring as well, he said.

“We’ve tried to step up patrols a little bit and make our position out there a little more evident,” said Pastula.

Kati Haynes, a UNA student and Appleby resident, said she did not know about the break-ins, but she takes safety measures to make sure her belongings are protected.

“I feel safe when I’m there, but I don’t want to be risky about things,” said Haynes. “I want to take precaution, and make sure everything’s safe and no one can get to my stuff.”

UNA student Nikki Lower said she also takes precautions to stay safe.

“I just lock everything up and make sure that it’s locked,” said Lower. “I go out with someone always with me to make sure nothing happens.”

SGA President Laura Giles said that she feels secure on campus, but she does understand students’ worries.

“As a student, I feel very safe on campus,” Giles said. “I feel protected by our officers and know they have our safety in mind in every decision made. I also understand that they cannot be everywhere at all times and there will be events that occur on campus that we are sometimes unable to prevent.

SGA remains committed to listening to student concerns, especially pertaining to matters like campus safety, she said.

“As SGA President, I have heard the concerns of our students just like each member of SGA has as we request feedback from the student body about UNA,” Giles said. “Safety is a concern, and we are planning events and forums to work on the preventative aspect of these worries so that students are aware of their surroundings and that they can feel safe here at our great university.”

In addition to the events SGA has already planned, Giles hopes SGA  will continue to do more to make the campus safer.

“Along with educating students on how to remain safe and protect oneself, we hope to work with the police department to work on the reactive measures such as the installation of cameras along campus and other ways to make students feel safe,” Giles said. “Although SGA has had more of a hand in the preventative measures, I would like to see us become more involved in other areas as that process begins and funding for cameras and such falls into place.”