Nineteen of the 65 vending machines on campus have been burglarized since the beginning of the semester.

Campus police records reveal that 34 percent of all vending machines on campus have been burglarized. More vending machines have been burglarized in the past two months than auto burglaries or stolen motor vehicles and bicycles.

Junior Brian Carmany asked, “How could that many vending machines be broken into without the police force doing anything about it?”

There are 18 police officers who patrol the campus, and they have stepped up their patrol regiments to look for vending machine vandals, said Public Information Officer John Hamrick.

“We (campus police) are also working with Patton Vending Company to discuss the necessity of installing an effective alarm system, as well as replacing the machines’ current covering with lexun-type glass, which would harden the face of the machine,” Hamrick said.

Vending machines are covered by a pliable protective plastic that is durable, but can yield to enough pressure, such as a blow delivered by a crowbar, said Christopher Morales, a collection representative with Patton Vending.

Plans to install a working security system and new lexun glass faces are underway and are currently being negotiated, Hamrick said.

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