Vandalism Here at CSULB

Public property gets vandalized everywhere, and the campus of Cal State University Long Beach is no exception. During the month of November, the campus police Activity Log notes four acts of vandalism at CSULB>

The log contains the common bathroom vandalism. On Nov. 4, 2009 campus police discovered damaged property in the men's restroom of the Education 2 building.

Callers reported dirty pictures, you might expect to find in restrooms, on campus trees. On Nov. 15, 2009 reports were filed of male genitalia carved into a ficus tree in lot 6. Trees in lot 4 had the same design.

That same day, someone a little late for Halloween tagged the stalls and trash can of the men's restroom in the Education 2 building with black and orange marker.
"It's a shame that a school with such a high academic reputation is littered with such juvenile chicken scratches!" says CSULB senior, Spencer Rummler. "Although, you know what i noticed in one bathroom? I can't remember where I saw this, but they installed white boards! I thought that was a creative solution. People could still get their 'grafitti on' with easy clean up."

As for outside of the restrooms, Rummler hasn't noticed any vandalism. If you too have missed these defacings, perhaps it is due to the campus's cleanup crew's immediate attention to this matter. On Nov. 25, 2009 campus police received a report of graffiti on the campus' south wall, off of Bellflower Boulevard. When police arrived at the scene, the cleanup crew was already covering the graffiti with paint.

According to Lt. Scot Willey the south end of campus attracts the most vandalism because it's close proximity to Seventh Street.

I Hate Getting My Car Impounded

It's scary enough driving around with expired tags--always trying to stay behind the cops, making sure a car is in between you and a cop. Why would anyone park on campus with expired tags? Your car is a sitting duck!

The campus police officers inspect vehicle registrations as part of their routine, crime-prevention checks of campus parking lots, Lt. Scot Willey confirms. Willey explains: "Police and parking officers radio in to our police dispatch center who will run and confirm the plate and its status. Whatever the DMV is showing at that exact time determines whether we act or not."

This last week campus police busted three people for expired registrations. And the Activity Log is littered with impounds entries.

Lot 11, 1 and 3 are the locations of the last three tows. What are you waiting for?

See the picture for what you will be given if your car is past registration. If you get to where you parked after its been towed, call the CSULB Police Department with your license plate and someone will tell you what lot to visit.

Who Prank Calls 911?!?

Thought prank phone calls were a thing of the past? An elementary school phase? Even in those younger days I knew there was nothing funny about prank-calling the cops, but perhaps some CSULB college students are sniffing too much glue.

Two prank 911 calls have occurred within the last couple of weeks. The activity log reports some students were caught on surveillance cameras.

This is a misdemeanor offense, and according to Lt. Scot Willey the police department will investigate and arrest confirmed offenders.

"We respond to all 911 calls, and the emergent nature increases when there is no answer on the caller's end," Willey stressed. "Calling 911 on a university campus is no different than calling 911 anywhere else. In fact, our police dispatchers are the 911 operators for not only our campus, but the surrounding areas as well."

If you do have an emergency don't hesitate to use any of the emergency telephones. Please see this link for Emergency Telephone Locations.

Haz-Mat Situation Here

Along with petty theft, grand theft, burglary, vandalism, public intoxication, marijuana use, an expired vehicle registration, a prank 911 call, and a trash can fire, CSULB had a Haz-Mat situation during these past two weeks.

A mobile science vehicle leaked an unknown substance in the corporation yard, behind the police station at CSULB, Oct. 19, 2009. Safety and risk management cleaned up the area.

[Updated 11/03/09 at 11:31 p.m.: The university vehicle leaked gas. Safety and risk management personnel cleaned up the area before any runoff made it to the storm drains, according to Lt. Scot Willey of the CSULB police department.]