A University student reported on Sept. 1 that his vehicle was missing from the parking lot adjacent to Estabrook Hall. Another student reported a satellite radio was stolen from her vehicle while parked in the Enterprise parking lot on Sept. 2. The next day, a student reported that her driver’s side window was shattered and her GPS system and iPod were removed from her vehicle near Colonial Square. Around the same time, a visitor reported the front grill of her car was bent and her hood dented while the car was in parking field seven.

And the list goes on.

With 10 break-ins and cases of vandalism within one 11-day period, the University’s already poor parking situation carries an even-worse social stigma: fear.

Petty crimes are persistent in the Public Safety Briefs, parking is tight enough and the lack of good lighting in parking lots and on sidewalks only perpetuates these problems. What happens from here?

“Wow…is it safe to park on campus or what?” a commenter asked on the Sept. 13 edition of HofstraChronicle.com’s Public Safety Briefs. The answer is “or what.”

Chances are, if you park in one of the University’s many academic or residential parking lots, the likelihood of a break-in or vandalism is high-especially if the student or visitor is foolish enough to leave doors unlocked and windows cracked. However, there are the unlucky ones on campus who randomly find their vehicle harmed in some way, anywhere from the windows being smashed, their windshield wipers snapped off, dents and other problems.

According to the University’s 2007 crime statistics (which can be found on hofstra.edu), its 2006 crime report lists only one vehicle theft on-campus-where all other auto crimes are left for the Public Safety Briefs. Unless prospective students and parents are picking up The Chronicle, where will they find this information, if necessary?

And while Public Safety does encourage students to lock their cars, close their windows and park in well-lit areas, the break-ins keep happening, and little action is being taken.

Last March, a string of break-ins in the C.V. Starr parking lot off California Avenue prompted Public Safety to institute cyclist patrol, in which officers police parking lots faster and more efficiently.

Months later, we still need to see more officers on bikes, as well as on foot. Lighting can be improved by the Constitution and Estabrook Hall parking lot to help students feel safer and become more aware of their surroundings (not to mention the sidewalk near the new graduate dorm is almost pitch-black).

Nevertheless, the University is, and always will be a driver’s campus. Putting safety first should always be at the top of the list.