In a previous interview with The State News, MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said many of the burglaries happened while students were sleeping and left their doors unlocked at night. Thousands of dollars in clothing and electronics were stolen from North and South Hubbard halls.

Joshua Gillespie, assistant director of Residence Education and Housing Services, said the organization has been doing all it can to inform students of the burglaries and to remind them to lock their doors.

“It could very well be an MSU student,” Gillespie said.

Because of the security in living areas, which requires a student I.D. to access those parts of the building, Gillespie said the thief is most likely a student swiping expensive items from rooms with unlocked doors. He also said it was possible the burglaries could have been committed by anyone with access to the building.

“All it takes is a minute,” Gillespie said.

Even students who leave their door unlocked for a moment to walk down the hall put their belongings at risk, he said.

Accounting freshman and Hubbard Hall resident Siwen Wang said her friends left their seventh and eighth floors unlocked and were later robbed. Wang said she thinks part of the reason it’s easy for burglars to get into the rooms is because her friends lived close to the emergency exits and because cameras haven’t been installed to monitor activity in stairwells.

Some of the items stolen included an iPad, laptop and shoes. Wang said police performed an investigation but came up empty.

“I will make sure I will lock my door before I go to sleep,” Wang said.

Despite being a resident of Hubbard Hall, general management freshman Erika Witte said she hadn’t heard anything about an uptick in robberies.

Witte said taking simple precautions like locking doors could help put students at ease.

“Nobody should be going into anybody’s dorm without permission,” Witte said. “But if it’s as simple as locking your doors, then you should lock your doors.”

Gillespie said his department has sent out emails to residents in Hubbard and to all students and have instructed resident assistants in the building to inform their residents to constantly lock their doors.

“Our number one priority is safety and security,” Gillespie said. “We will do whatever is necessary to ensure that occurs for every student.”