Several incidents of vandalism and thefts in the student housing at Misjonsmarka ruin the sleep for a number of the students. – It is the students’ own fault, says SiS Housing.

By: Maria Gilje Torheim (text) & Oscar Eide Haus (photo). Translated by Bjørn Harald Lye

UNSAFE: Taressa Qanno Chaka, student at the School of Mission and Theology (MHS), lives at Misjonsmarka, a stones’ throw from the school. He has several times experienced that trespassers have entered the building because housemates have left the front door open.

The students that live in housing belonging to SiS at Misjonsmarka have had to deal with alot lately. Before the summer holiday and in the middle of the exam period, vermins were reported. In the same period of time, trespassers entered the common room and stole a flat screen TV and a DVD – player. Last week, a screw was removed from the door to the bike booth and one of the bikes, belonging to a student, was damaged.

The students’ own fault
The janitor at the building, Gaute Arnesen, believes the problem lays with the students, who put things by the door to keep it open. Thus they have no one to blame other than themselves for trespassers entering and damaging things.

– They put things by the door to keep it open to other students, or to make it easier to take a smoke. This is negligence from the students. We have always encouraged the students to be vigilant about keeping the front door closed at all times. The students have a responsibility for not allowing trespassers to enter, says Arnesen.

This is negligence from the students. Gaute Arnesen, janitor at Misjonsmarka.

Understood nothing
– I did not know it happened, but I believe it happened during the night. The only thing I know is that three days later, a fellow student asked me what had happened. He could tell me that someone had entered and stolen both the TV and the DVD – player, says Taressa Qanno Chaka.

The MHS-student lives in the student housing at Misjonsmarka, right next to the school.
– I did not understand anything, and I still do not understand who could do a thing like this, says Chaka.

– At first, it was not really a problem, because there were only weeks before everyone was on a summer holiday, but now we really notice that the TV is gone, says housemate and MHS – student, Elias Mollel, from Tanzania.

Mollel has temporarily responsibility for the students that live at Misjonsmarka, and he thinks it is sad that they no longer have anything special to gather around in the common room on the 3rd floor.

– We miss the TV alot, he says.

Does not feel safe
Even though that they miss the TV and the DVD – player greatly, Chaka means it is worse to feel unsafe when things like this happens where they live.

– I did not expect this to happen. Sometimes I fear for my own safety and especially during the weekends when several people has a reason to keep the front door open, says Chaka, that claims that he has never put anything by the front door to keep it open.

Chaka and Mollel can also tell that they have experienced vandalism on one of the doors in to the building itself, and it has made it harder to open afterwards.

– It is probably no one that lives in the building who does this, but when the door is open some trespassers sees the opportunity to enter and do what they want, says Chaka.

Sometimes I fear for my own safety and especially during the weekends when several people has a reason to keep the front door open. -  Taressa Qanno Chaka, MHS-student.

Will buy a new TV
Leader of SiS Housing, Øyvind Lorentzen, has received a report from the janitor at Misjonsmarka about the criminal acts. He says that the management has reported the stolen items to the police. He will not speculate in what happened.

– Is it the students’ own fault that things like this happens when they leave the door open?

– That could be a possible reason, but I will not speculate. We know that the door to our student dorm has been open sometimes, and that trespassers have entered, but that does not give me a reason to speculate on whom is behind these actions, he says and he promises that SiS will buy a new TV and DVD – player to the students.

But, that does not help when it comes to the security of the students.

Has Securitas guards

– Is there anything that can be done from SiS to avoid the students feeling unsafe?

– It is hard to say. We have Securitas guards that students can call if they come across unpleasant situations or if they feel unsafe. But I believe that everyone that has been exposed to criminal acts will feel a little unsafe afterwards, says Lorentzen.

It is hard to do anything pro-actively to prevent this from happening, but we have encouraged the students to keep the doors to their rooms and front door locked as well as keeping the windows shut, he says.

The janitor agrees with Lorentzen.

- I can not understand that they would feel unsafe if they keep the doors locked. Personally, I have not received any messages that the students feel uncomfortable about this, he says, and adds that if that is the case, they are more than welcome to contact him.

The case at a glance:

• Students put things by the front door to keep the door open for other students, or to make it easier to walk in and out in order to have a smoke.

• This has lead to trespassers entering the housing several times and stolen a flat screen TV and a DVD – player that were placed in the common room on the 3rd floor.

• A screw was removed from the door to the bike booth, and a bike has been damaged.