Reporter Volume 25, No.20 March 10, 1994

By MARK WALLACE
Reporter Staff

Of the 40 instances of theft that took place in Alumni Arena in fall
1993, all 40 were due to people leaving their property unsecured and
unattended, Nelson Townsend, director of Athletics at UB, said last
week during a meeting he called to discuss security issues at the
arena.
	Townsend called the March 2 meeting, he said, because of a
lack of information in Western New York about what's really taking
place at UB in terms of crime.
	"What goes into The Spectrum and is read on campus can be
taken in a different perspective by those who are not on campus,"
Townsend said. "Someone who picks up The Spectrum elsewhere and reads
about a 'rising crime rate' can be led to think it's unsafe to come
onto the UB campus. Leaving your wallet unattended and losing it is
not 'crime' to people in downtown Buffalo."
	There were no muggings, breaking and entering, property
destruction or any other sort of more serious crime at Alumni Arena
last semester, Townsend said. "But if you lay your stuff down and
leave it unattended, there is a chance that someone will walk away
with it," he said. "No one has the right to pick up your stuff, but
it's the sort of crime that's very different from breaking into
someone's office, or assaulting someone."
	Lee Griffin, director of Public Safety, said that by all
indications, the thefts have primarily been cases of student property
stolen by other students. 
	Alumni Arena has very large public exposure, Nelson Townsend
said. "Almost every constituent group of UB, from pre-schoolers to
senior citizens, uses Alumni at some point," he said. "The only part
about Alumni that gets that general exposure, however, is the
athletic, recreational side. But Alumni also has classes, and a whole
school of Theatre and Dance.
	"We want people to come here for all sorts of events, and they
do," Townsend said. "So we need to let people know all the information
about what's happening here, and especially as it relates to theft."
	The solution to giving Alumni a more accurate image is
education, Townsend said. People need to understand that carelessness
about their property leads to a greater likelihood of its being
stolen, he said.
	"Alumni Arena is as safe as we can make it," Townsend said.
"There's nothing wrong with this building that makes it unsafe. Our
own staff realizes the need to be more vigilant in trying to make sure
that unauthorized people don't come in, and that has helped.
	"What's going to solve the problem is making people aware, and
people making themselves aware," Townsend said. "I think that's
already getting better. There are enough lockers here for everybody to
secure their property."