Editor,
I was appalled to read the story last week about the drug den in an underground tunnel on campus. The fact that the Physical Plant Department was alerted to the broken lock, but did not take the initiative to investigate or call UNMPD to investigate the first time the lock was broken demonstrates a level of either incompetence, naivety or both.
I find the fact that there was a person, under the influence of drugs and in possession of a stolen APD shotgun, living in an underground tunnel on campus very alarming. PPD should be well aware of the occurrence of homeless people using the campus to live on, why did they not look into the tunnel the first time the lock was broken?
It is very fortunate that no one was murdered or hurt in that tunnel. I am willing to give PPD the benefit of the doubt — maybe the tunnel was particularly difficult to access from the entrance — but locks don’t just get broken for no reason. If the lock was broken they had every reason to suspect someone could have been in the tunnel. Moreover, PPD could have accidentally trapped a person, or several people, inside the tunnel accidentally during the initial lock replacement.
Just this week the Daily Lobo reported how crime is on the rise at campus, with a huge increase in car thefts over the past two years. PPD should be required to contact UNMPD about suspicious occurrences on campus, like broken locks, which should be considered potential attempted break-ins and investigated as such. Without doing so they are basically turning a blind eye to criminal activity, and clearly, criminals are getting the message.
Carol Woodland
UNM Student
