The travel dates are set and students are ready to leave their finals behind, but those living on or near campus might be wondering what will become of their trusty wheels while they’re away visiting family and chasing the holiday spirit.
Luckily, students can leave their cars on campus over winter break, but Campus Safety needs to know.
All students need to do is drop their keys off at Campus Safety and provide them with your name, your license plate information, vehicle make, model and color.
In past years Campus Safety has had to move cars because of snow removal and because of flooding due to a water line breakage.
Because of construction being done over break, students that leave their car on campus over break are asked to park near the Pilot House.
“Over break, a large and heavy HVAC system is being installed on the roof of Franz Hall,” Director of Campus Safety Sara Westbrook said in a Nov. 30 email to the UP community. “To accomplish the work a huge crane will need to navigate through a portion of the main parking lot unhindered.”
More so than past years, students have a greater incentive to leave their cars on campus with the rise in vandalism and break-ins.
“Car prowl, car thefts, and catalytic converter thefts are on the rise, in all of Portland,” Westbrook said in a November interview with The Beacon. “It's crazy. So yeah, it's spilling onto our campus.”
The best preventative measure for car break-ins is to empty your vehicle and keep everything out of sight.
“If you don't want your car broken into, don't leave anything in your car,” Westbrook said.
William Seekamp is the News and Managing Editor of The Beacon. He can be reached at Seekamp22@up.edu.
Chiara Profenna is a reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at profenna23@up.edu.
