I Hl : })!.!■ IRf'Ni >Bf .\c A ?\ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2000 Behrend noticing unusual thefts by Mark Benko staff writer A significant amount of office equipment was reported stolen by Dr. Robert Simoneau, director of the School of Engineering and Engineering Technology. Two overhead projectors at a cost of $9,400 combined were discovered missing form Nick 170 and the engineering computer lab, Witkowski 109. These thefts were reported on January 7. According to Mr. Bill Donahue, manager of Police and Safety Services at Behrend, these crimes are a third degree felony and are part of “The crimes in the past have been more serious than we normally deal with.” an alarming trend of rising theft that has hit the campus in the last year or so. Donahue recalled that he has not seen theft to this degree in all seven years of his tenure at Behrend. The thefts were discovered by a faculty member and a police officer, and the case has been turned over to the Pennsylvania State Police, who are acting as the lead investigating force. They are being assisted by Donahue and his staff on campus, and are in the process of leading the “most thorough investigation possible,” according to Donahue. The maximum penalty for a third degree felony in Pennsylvania is a fine of up to $15,000 and a prison sentence of up to seven years. Recently, Penn State and personal property losses on a university-wide level have surpassed $30,000 a year. As far as possible motives are concerned, Donahue speculated that reasons could range from simple vandalism to resale for profit. The crimes could also involve someone who wanted the equipment for personal use, or who simply didn’t want to have class that day. “The crimes in the past year have been more serious than we normally deal with,” stated Donahue. He also said that Police and Safety services are in the process of enhancing their ability to monitor the campus not only with personnel, but with alarm systems as well. Three major areas of theft concern are the engineering complex, which houses millions of dollars worth of equipment, the media labs in the Library, and the computer centers located throughout the campus. Faculty members or students should immediately report persons damaging or stealing property to Police and Safety. Those reporting information may remain anonymous, but doing so may also make prosecution more difficult. Donahue explained that while most crimes occur on the weekends and during the hours of darkness, they could happen at any hour. If someone is seen who appears suspicious by wandering around aimlessly or trying to open locked doors, Police and Safety asks observers to report it. Faculty members and office personnel are encouraged to keep all office doors, desks, windows, and file cabinets locked each night and to verify service personnel by checking work orders for that area. Behrend boasts five full time police officers with the same training and authority to arrest as any state police agency. In addition to these officers, the college employs two full time protection guards and five student auxiliary officers. Donahue stated that these thefts have interfered with the quality of education at Behrend and that everyone on campus suffers as a result of these crimes. VANDALISM repair. But are these incidents out of character? According to Police and Safety Manager Mr. Bill Donahue, perhaps not. “These numbers appear to be consistent with past years. We have had periods when thefts from and damage to parked cars have been much higher.” encourage anyone with any Behrend’s Kay Johnson selected to serve on standardization organization Professor Kay Johnson, a Be hrend lecturer of finance, has been selected as a committee member for the International Organization for Standardization/ Technical Com mittee for Financial Planning (ISO/ TC 222.) The inaugural conference will be held at the Emory Confer ence Center Hotel in Atlanta, Geor gia on Monday, February 26, and Tuesday, Feb. 27. Bill Donahue, Manager of Police and Safety Services ISO, a collection of standards or ganizations that represent 130 countries, is based in Geneva, Swit zerland. The organizations’ goal is to create and set international stan dards in fields such as financial ser vices, banking, energy production and utilization, information pro cessing, textiles, and communica tion. In short, ISO facilitates the global exchange of information. The ISO committee that will meet in Atlanta will consist of people from all over the world. Johnson will represent one of only 15 appointed United States com mittee members. The topics that Johnson will be involved in are fo cused around personal financial planning, which is the process of giving a client objective help when ' ,' * t 'r S* iv :: f; a Q* ail in here you'll push yourself. Test your limits. %* : ; ** t&vefop skills that’ll last a lifetime, like hpw to think feet and be • : : 2 - *W? ha# an#4eeision ; maker. Youjcould even ; $et a fer an Army >-vV*x : ’?*■'—J-Vv*' • V ***»*>•.*•* •• V Donahue did, however, by Michael Grooms staff writer information pertaining to currently pending damage investigations to bring the details to the attention of Police and Safety. He also had a few tips for students faced with possible vandalism to their vehicles: -Report damage immediately to Police and Safety upon discovery of it. -Do not move the damaged vehicle until Police and Safety organizing and analyzing the client’s personal financial matters to achieve lifestyle and financial Johnson said, “ It is a great honor to be part of this, and I am very excited to be going.” Johnson "I want to represent the United States in a professional man ner. I do not want to offend anyone.” learned of the opportunity through the Certified Financial Planners Board of Standards (CFP). Johnson has been a CFP member for seven years. The CFP Board of Standards is a board that grants CFP licenses and oversees the actions, standards, and disciplinary sanctions for CFP licenses. She received an email that notified her of the event, filled out an application and was accepted. According to Johnson, "I couldn’t believe they chose me. When I told my husband, he had a hard time re- it’s not for everyone, but that's NEWS FROM FRONT PAGE Kay Johnson ; lecturer in finance and business economics [the point] C Unlike any other college course you can trice* £sjEhe(ulfcFor Info, cal have had the opportunity to examine the vehicle, the damage, and the surrounding area. -If activity is observed that may be related to vehicle vandalism, bring it to the attention of Police and Safety as soon as possible. For more information or to report possible vandalism, contact Police and Safety at x6lOl. alizing how big this really was. I just kept telling him, this is inter national!” This is not an all expense paid business conference. Penn State and Johnson will share in paying the costs. In order to prepare, Johnson is researching interna tional cultures, and exploring top ics like appropriate clothing and in ternational dining etiquette. Johnson said, “I want to represent the United States in a professional manner. I do not want to offend anyone." The international negoti ating languages that will be used for the convention are French and English. Most of the committee members will be flying to Atlanta, but Johnson enjoys Amtrak, so she will be staying on the ground. “I have had too many terrifying airplane experiences.” The Inaugural ISO/TC 222 con ference will develop procedures for establishing standards in broad ar eas of financial planning such as education, ethics, practice stan dards, examination, and experi- ence. These areas are broken down into specific subjects such as finan cial, retirement, estate, income tax, insurance, and investment plan- POSTERS drinking are different from what’s actually happening." The HEC’s Website concurred: “student perceptions of drinking norms are part of that campus environment, and correcting student misperceptions about their peers’ drinking is an important part of ensuring that inaccurate perceptions about the environment are not negatively influencing student Kay Johnson, lecturer in finance and business economics, will be one of 15 Americans serving on the International Organization for Standardization/Technical Committee for Financial Planning in Atlanta this month. behavior. Many universities across the nation are participating in similar campaigns, including Washington State University, University of Arizona, and Rutgers University. To access more information about the HEC's social marketing approach, log on to their Website at www.edc.org/hec/ socialnorms/. PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY RELATIONS 1898-7279. colleges