Brown and White Vol. 112 No. 2

              the brown and white lehigh university's student newspaper founded in 1894 all the lehigh news first vol 112 no 2 friday september 3 2004 break-ins off campus spur unease by jessica glowinski news editor and olivia basu assistant news editor a rash of break-ins has plagued off-campus neighbor hoods since the beginning of the semester in the past 10 days alone intruders have broken into three off-campus houses occupied by female students on aug 22 on east packer avenue at an all-female residence a man entered the bedroom of one of the residents in the middle of the night the resident who asked not to be named had gone to bed at approximately 4 a.m she was just dozing off when she felt someone gendy stroking her hair the student said that she ini tially did not think anything of the situation because she was in a dreamlike daze she also said the intruder was probably stroking her hair for about two minutes before she rolled over to face his direction as she turned over she heard footsteps leaving her room and awoke to find a balding middle-aged man rush ing away the student said she jumped out of her bed and chased the intruder down her staircase she then grabbed his arm and repeat edly asked him what he was doing in the residence the man responded by saying that he was at a party next door and the student's neighbors gave him a key to her residence so he could use the restroom the resi dent said she knew the intruder was lying but he ran out the front door and across the parking lot on birkel avenue before she was able to ask him anything further days later the student said she discovered a muddy boot print on the lid of her toilet and now thinks that the intruder entered through an unlocked bathroom window the student described the intruder to bethlehem pohce as a middle-aged man about 5 feet 10 inches tall 200 pounds balding with light brown hair and wear ing a red and blue collared shirt with dark pants the bethlehem police also told the student who encountered the intruder that reports of similar situations have occurred for the past two years the authorities also said that the intruder has never gone into the same house twice another situation occurred on the same night on polk street a lehigh student was asleep at her residence when she felt someone pulling on her shirt the student woke up to find a man in his mid 20s masturbating at her bedside the intruder was only wearing his boxers and left as soon as the student woke up the student described the male approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall with light blond hair and said that he probably entered through an unlocked back door a man matching this descrip tion was also involved in another break-in on aug 30 a senior who asked not to be named was sleeping in her house on birkel avenue when she heard a noise and awoke at 2:30 a.m to find a man looking into her room from the hallway the student was startled but assumed the man was a guest of one of her other housemates and simply closed her door and went b3w photo by blake neiman back to sleep upon speaking with her housemates the follow ing morning however she real ized the man she saw was not a guest and called the police there were no signs of forced entry it appeared that the man had entered through an unlocked back door lt stuart bedics a bethlehem police investigator said that they had leads on a few of these cases but there are no arrests pending off-campus burglary in addition to these cases there were also repeated break ins at one off-campus house on east fifth street on the mornings of aug 29 and aug 30 in the first incident the intrud a student house on east fifth street was the site of repeated break-ins last weekend in the past 10 days there are have been five different break-ins in the area spring renovations set for linderman by michelle brinker news writer linderman library will be closed for 18 months starting next springs as it undergoes an exten sive renovation the renovations are designed to create new meeting spaces and to make more efficient use of the remaining storage space for books those involved are trying to optimize space for students staff faculty and all library functions said bruce taggart vice provost of library and technology services hot humid weather and vari ous leaks have taken a toll on the library's books and these prob lems will also be addressed dur ing the renovation infrastructure improvements will include air conditioning improved lighting and a sprin kler system another major change will be the addition of a cafe in the base ment of the library's rotunda linderman will have new spaces for studying and social interac tions as well as designated quiet spaces other additions include multipurpose rooms a graduate lounge and more bathrooms the project is expected to cost 1.7 million the majority of this money will come from alumni corporations grants and friends of the library taggart said the funds will also allow linderman to have better visual and physical accessibility libraries are places of social interaction he said this has been acknowledged in the reno vation plans while the renovations may be inconvenient for students some such as brian f gerard 07 can see the positive side as long as the educational process is augmented through the extensive renovations without a negative impact on the ability of students to receive the highest level of schooling we have all come to appreciate at lehigh then the plan should be executed in the most efficient way possi ble gerard said concept planning and draw ings for the renovation started in 1999 the architectural design plans are in the process of being finalized the drawings will be available online to students and faculty later this semester to access books during the renovation library patrons will have to call ahead and request particular books which will be stored at off-site locations poten tially including johnson hall and the upper university center see break-ins page 3 football season kicks off saturday against stony brook see story page 16 sports 14-16 sports work study 14 women's soccer 15 planner controversy 14 university considers on-campus living requirement for sophomores see story page 3 news 1-4 community director 2 changes in campus buildings technology greet students see story page 5 lifestyle 5-10 look who's talking 8 face in the crowd 9 rob herb 94g announced as new head coach for swimming and div ing bw.lehigh.edu quick fact the term devil's advocate comes from the roman catholic church source www.amusingfacts.com