A total of 10 projectors were stolen from unlocked classrooms around campus last week, and campus police are still investigating the case.

The incidents were reported to police between the dates of July 7 and July 10, 2005.

Three projectors were taken from Eppler North, another three from the Business Administration Building, two from the Math Science Building, and two others from the Education Building, according to Angie Slade, the records management officer with the campus police.

Another two projectors were tampered with in the Business Administration Building, in what appeared to be an attempt to take those also, Slade said.

The first stolen projector was reported by an instructor to police on Thursday. When police did a walk of campus that evening, they noticed that three were missing from Eppler.

Police believe that the other projectors were stolen overnight on Thursday, July 7, according to Sgt. Timothy Guthrie. Guthrie was the supervising officer during the shift when the first projector was reported stolen.

When they did a “sweep of campus” on Friday morning, police noticed there were even more projectors missing, Guthrie said.

Guthrie said that the deans of the colleges decide whether to lock the individual rooms of their respective buildings. Usually, classroom doors remain unlocked in most buildings on campus, he said. The exception, though, would be rooms with their own security alarms, which are both locked and alarmed. Guthrie would not say whether the affected classrooms are alarmed.

The campus police do check to make sure that all external doors are locked to campus buildings.

All of the projectors were made by Panasonic. It would cost about $1,400 to replace each projector with a new one, according to Kevin Work, the director of Instructional Media Services.

Classes will still be held in the rooms with the missing projectors, according to Teri Sharp, director of media relations at the University. Temporary replacements will be put in the affected classrooms until the equipment can be recovered or replaced before fall semester, Sharp said.

But although fall classes will probably not be affected by the theft, some summer classes were. Most of the instructors of those summer classes said that they did not even use the projectors during their classes, according to Laura Waggoner, director of registration and scheduling in the Office of Registration and Records.

The BGSU police also reported signs of an attempted break-in to the offices in the Math Science Building. Police are considering the possibility that the attempt was related to the projector thefts, according to a statement released by the campus police.

Police are still investigating the thefts, but Guthrie said police are “pushing to lock classrooms.” Police have also posted gold colored “*CRIME ALERT*” fliers around campus, and are hoping “we’ll have the extra eyes to help us look,” Guthrie said.

Editors note: The BGSU police would like BG News readers to call them with any information they may have about the case. Contact campus police at (419)372-2346.