Crime has crept its way into the densely populated, spirited confines of Krzyzewskiville.
Inhabitants of several tents entrenched along the sidewalk next to the tennis courts returned to their lodgings at various times last week to discover that the tents had been vandalized: Some had received slash marks on the sides, some had their poles bent or broken and others were turned upside down.
Trinity sophomore Brent Kaziny, who resides in Tent 33, said the sides of his tent were slashed straight through in two places. Two of the heavy aluminum supporting poles in front of the tent were severely bent, he continued, while one other were broken. He speculated that someone had used a heavy instrument to inflict the damage.
"We were able to patch up the slashes with duct tape and bent the two other poles back into shape," he said. "We didn't report it to [the Duke University Police Department] since we were able to fix it up."
Tent 3 also fell victim to vandalism. A resident of that tent, Trinity sophomore Jill Alexy, said she noticed the damage early last week. "I walked by and it was upside down and slashed and torn to shreds," she said. "The sticks were even broken in half."
Some students are taking steps of their own to ensure the safety of their tents.
Trinity sophomore Robert Cuthbertson, whose tent was also vandalized, said his fellow tent residents decided to relocate their tent to a less exposed location. "We moved [our tent] to the side of the street last week and hopefully nothing will happen there," he said. "It hasn't since that time."
Campus Police has no leads, but officers said they are investigating the incidents. Although the department received several verbal accounts of tent damage by their respective owners, Major Robert Dean of Campus Police said only one written report has been filed.
He said officers are working to gather as much information as possible in order to investigate further, but he noted that unreported acts of vandalism are difficult to explore. "I can't see that there's much we can do," Dean said. "But I feel like someone knows who is doing these things."
Vandalism is a misdemeanor, Dean explained, meaning that the guilty parties, if caught, will be required to pay a fine for each charge. He said, however, that he was uncertain whether Campus Police would press criminal charges or-if the perpetrators proved to be students-allow the Undergraduate Judicial Board to handle the situation.
But student and police concerns extend beyond just the isolated incidents of vandalism and damaged tents; safety issues have become a more pressing worry in Krzyzewskiville. Although Dean said Campus Police has always been careful to monitor the safety of K-ville residents, the rash of vandalism has prompted officers to examine more closely the vulnerability of the area.
"It has already created a safety issue," he explained. "We've been concerned since we've had tents out there because people are out in an open area. We've been fortunate that nothing has really happened until now. We can just re-emphasize that students should not leave their tents unguarded."
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