Have you ever had your car broken into? Better yet, have you ever had your car stolen or an attempted theft of your vehicle?

The process of dealing with a break-in or attempted theft leads me to this question: If these people take the time to try to break in or steal the car, could they do a better job? Quite possibly with the help of some classes.

I have a 1998 Honda Civic. I have just completed a three-year lease for the Civic and now turned the lease over to the bank as a loan. The purpose of this is so I can happily finish school and move on to bigger (a truck for instance) and better (certainly not a Honda) things in my life.

Knowing that the Honda Civic is a “hot” item in the eyes of robbers and thefts leads me to believe they are not doing a very good job, perhaps a class or even a program should be offered.

The courses could be called: 100A How to successfully break in to Hondas, Toyotas and other “hot” vehicles,and 100B How to successfully steal cars, trucks and automobiles (rather than leaving the vehicle empty-handed, looking like an idiot in front of friends while causing the owner of the vehicle an unneeded distress).

My first run-in with such lovely, considerate deviants was in San Diego. The locks were tampered with and I could only get in and out of the car through the passenger side door. Understanding that things like this will happen, I didn?t let it concern me.

The second time I encountered an attempted break-in was during the Christmas season, (mind you I am a poor, starving college student) by the Convention Center. This time, both locks were broke so there was no possible way to get into the vehicle.

Finally, the third time was successful, but not quite. They broke in, taking only the face to my CD player, not the stereo or the other things like CD?s and other items: that was 3 months ago.

Over the weekend I walked out to my car to head to work so I can afford to live, and noticed that the idiot person who tried (key word tried) to steal the car was unsuccessful. But they did manage to pull out the steering column and dismantle the ignition and paneling. This of course was a great joy because it?s only been 3 months since the last break-in. So of course I lost a day of work, and had the pleasure of chatting with the Highway Patrol, the Sheriff, my insurance, and my not-so-thrilled boss.

You of course see my frustration on the uneducated manner of car theft. Had they been successful once, I wouldn?t feel the need to arm the “civic” and hire “car guards” to protect the car. The fact of the matter is that I don?t even want the car anymore. They can have it. But they might want to enroll in at least one class, 100A or 100B, because it sure looks like they might need some help!

Keep working at it, you almost got it chief!

Kathleen Davis is a Communication Studies major. She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].