Old Union Building Hit By Theft.

Approximately $24,000 in equipment was stolen out of the ASI marketing department and game room in the old university union building last month, ASI said.

ASI president Mohammed Beig said some students also had personal belongings stolen in addition to the ASI equipment that was taken.

“It’s unfortunate that students are being targeted in the bad economy,” said Beig, who also added that the area was an easy target because the equipment was so visible.

The investigation remains ongoing, according to university police officers Yolanda Harris and Kevin Gonzalez.

Among the items stolen were several Macintosh computers from the marketing department and video games from the game cave, including an Xbox, Playstation and Wii, according to Harris.

The burglary was first discovered on the morning of April 16 by facilities management, who found broken glass outside the game room and in an entrance to the second floor, according to ASI executive director Randy Saffold.

University police suspect the theft occurred over that weekend some time between Saturday at 11 p.m. to Sunday at 9:30 a.m. when the culprits entered through the second floor by breaking a window to open the entrance.

Saffold said the insurance company should be covering the equipment costs incurred by the theft and that they have “beefed up security” with new cameras and alarms to prevent any future burglaries.

“We’ve agreed that personal belongings will be covered because they were being used for ASI,” said Saffold, who added that the equipment would be replaced once the insurance company received the police report.

Gonzalez said university police have a lead through the stolen equipment but declined to comment further because it remains an active investigation.

Furthermore, both Harris and Saffold commented on the “opportunistic” nature of the crime, with Saffold adding that the economic downturn was probably a big motivating factor.

“I think we had some very opportunistic people. It was easy for people to walk through and see what was there,” said Saffold.