Students admit to stealing router
Two Lovett College students confessed to stealing a network router valued at $4,000 from the Lovett basement shortly after the IT department reported the missing router Oct. 8. Originally referred to University Court, the case will instead be handled by Assistant Dean for Student Judicial Programs Don Ostdiek Two alarms were triggered at the Information Technology department when the signal from the router stopped at night. A network architect investigated the cause of the alarm, discovered that the router had been removed and notified the Rice University Police Department. RUPD Officer Paul Villarreal inspected the scene and discovered a student ID card. Although Villarreal was not sure the ID belonged to the perpetrator, he used it as an investigative lead and followed up on the student, Rice University Police Chief Bill Taylor said. Villarreal went to the student’s room but was notified the student was not there. ‘The officer told [the person who opened the door], ‘I have something that belongs to him, I need to speak to him … when he gets back, please have him contact me,” Taylor said. At about midnight, the student and a friend came to RUPD with the router. They turned the router in to Villarreal and said they borrowed it to network computers together for computer games. They were unable to return the router to the lab, Taylor said. Villarreal then referred the case to University Court. ‘When the students realized that officer knew who had it, they panicked a bit — which is an appropriate reaction,’ Taylor said. ‘They’ve done something, and even though they didn’t see it as first as something of a major deal, that’s a pretty expensive component, and it shut down the computer lab. So, there are some issues there, and they’re going to have to face the music based on that.’ The case was turned over to Student Judicial Affairs instead of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office primarily because the students confessed, Taylor said. ‘Holding yourself accountable for something you did — that’s frankly something a lot of folks don’t do anymore,’ Taylor said. ‘I applaud that on their part.’ Ostdiek will determine whether there was a violation of the Code of Student Conduct and, if so, what penalty is appropriate. ‘U. Court is just getting going, and this isn’t a routine case, so that’s why I’ve decided to take it,’ Ostdiek, who is currently deliberating the case, said. Lovett College Masters Bernard and Carolyn Aresu declined to comment on the case.
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