Territorial Hall officials have begun investigating the theft of about $1,500 of internal computer parts stolen from a computer’s processor, motherboard and hard drive.
“We are definitely investigating the situation,” said Daniel Hansen, Territorial’s hall director.
Hansen said because the parts were inside the computer, the loss wasn’t immediately discovered. “We have it narrowed to a two-day period of time,” he said.
He added that because the parts are useless standing alone, the perpetrators probably planned to sell the parts after the theft. The thief “might have been thinking that the equipment could be ID’d and didn’t want to have it around,” Hansen said.
This is the second such incident of theft from the computer lab this year, Hansen said. Last fall, items were stolen, but those losses weren’t as significant.
“Whenever equipment is stolen from the computer room it’s unfortunate,” he said. However, he added that this loss was “especially unfortunate” because the computer was one of a kind at the residence hall.
“We only have one PC,” he said. “(The loss) will prevent other residents from using IBM-based programs.”
“It’s a loss to all the residents of Territorial, especially during finals week.”
Territorial Hall officials plan to buy another computer to replace the loss, but will not be able to do so until next year.
“The money (from this year’s budget) has been allocated elsewhere,” Hansen said.
Officials also plan to make these thefts more difficult by securing access to the inner workings of computers, Hansen said. In this incident, the equipment was removed through the back of the computer.
Hansen said there is a “strong possibility” that a Territorial Hall resident was involved in the incident because the computer lab is in a secured area of the residence hall.

University police investigated other incidents during the week as well.

ù University police are currently investigating a Thursday night break-in of the clubhouse at the University golf course.
According to the police report, an unknown number of perpetrators broke into the clubhouse on the St. Paul campus and made off with an unknown amount of money.
Chris Korbol, program director at the course, said the theft is the latest in a string of incidents that include break-ins to a (Coca-Cola Co.) machine earlier in the year.
“It got to the point that Coke just took the machine out because it was just too secluded,” Korbol said.
People have also attempted to break into the Driving Range Learning Center, which opened last April.
“They’ve been working on the learning center ever since we opened,” Korbol said.
He added that club administrators suspect that the incidents were performed by the same people.
The club plans to increase course security, and Korbol said University police are planning to make more rounds in response to the troubles.
“So hopefully that will deter further incidents,” he said.
Outside of the theft, the clubhouse sustained no damage other than what was done to the doors that were broken through with crowbars.
Korbol said the vandalism to the clubhouse is fairly unusual. A more often-hit target is the green, where intruders vandalize the course and try to steal golf carts.
“Most of the damage that has been done in the past years has been relegated to the course,” he said. “It’s rare that it happens to the clubhouse itself.”