Pepperdine University - Promenade Yearbook (Malibu, CA)

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24 news Crime increase at Seaver includes: (l)thefls of steak from SAGA Food Services, and (2)a theft in the bookstore.

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(1 A couple searches through the rubble of what was once their home. (2)AII that was left of this house was the fireplace. (3)A man surveys the damage. news 23

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crime increases at seaver It seems like every time I pick up the Graphic, there's another story about crime at Pepperdine. It's getting ridiculous, said one Seaver College coed. Seaver, like so many universities today, has found itself plagued by countless incidents of theft, vandalism, and at least two accounts of sexual assault. As in anywhere the population goes up, so does the crime, suggested Dick Bargas in November, then director of Campus Safety. (Bargas resigned in March.) Malibu is changing too. They're catering to a different character of students. Five years ago they would never have built a MacDonald s, but now the town is catering to the kind of people who frequent these places, such as students. Two separate accounts of sexual assault have been reported in the past year. Theft has been another problem at Seaver. Numerous car batteries, weather car covers, cameras and other possessions have been reported stolen from vehicles at Latigo and Seaver park- ing lots. Final exams were stolen in December when six of Seaver College's division and professor's offices were broken into. Dr. Bob Gilliam, professor of psychology, said he returned from the weekend of Dec. 9 to find his top desk drawer had been pried open and keys from three filing cabinets were gone. He believed exams for Man and Society were taken, In March, $400 worth of top sirloin steaks were stolen from the cafeteria, according to SAGA Food Services director Tracy Kelly. Only 65 of 350 steaks used for the Saturday night meal remained when Kelly discovered the theft. worth of merchandise was stolen from the campus bookstore. There were no signs of forced entry, according to bookstore manager Shirley Jensen and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies. The stolen articles included a Technics stereo receiver, five cameras, four lenses, and a flash attachment, according to Sgt. Ed Propersi, the investigating deputy. Thievery, car vandalism and assault are not as frequent at Seaver as dormitory destruction, however. Horseplay, resulting in major destruction of dorms XI, XII, XIV and Upsilon is out of control, housing director John McClung said in November. Allen Nelson, men's resident coordinator, attributed the problem of dorm vandalism to student immaturity. It's ornery meanness and viciousness on the part of these guys, he said. They're taking out their frustrations on inanimate things. It is beyond my comprehension to understand mentality that operates like a child.’ Student Government' Association (SGA) president Rod Gaudin said the problem is very serious at a November SGA Assembly meeting. I know of one guy who picked up a chair and threw it through a wall because the Cincinnati Reds lost a lousy baseball game, he said. Lt. John Cominski, campus safety officer, said he felt the solution to campus crime is for stronger disciplinary action on behalf of the university. I truly believe the university needs to crack down on punishments and be stricter with violators, he said. After the sexual assault in March, Rick Ellison, new director of campus safety said, We immediately 'beefed up' all security measures since the case in hopes of reducing further occurrences of this nature. As a step toward alleviating the problem of exam thefts and cheating, the Seaver College Code of Academic Ethics was established and passed by a student body vote in a March 28 SGA election, 441-116. news 25