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Help: what to say/where to look

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Alan3322

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?Hello Everyone,

(Note: I am new to this forum and am not sure if this post is in the right place. Hopefully someone can help me. To any moderators: If this post is in the wrong place and you guys are strict about that kinda thing, feel free to move it.)


My Situation:

I am a student, currently attending a small private college located in Rockland County, New York.

I live in one of the residence halls on campus. Over the last three months, there have been a number of thefts of student's belongings, only in this particular building, totaling to more than $10,000 worth of property, mostly personal electronics and computer equipment.

Everything that's missing has been taken from student's dorm rooms. Nearly all of the rooms have been locked during the thefts and there have not been any instances of forced entry. It is an old building, the doors are poorly fitted, and anyone can open any room in less than a second using a credit card.

Anyway, about a week ago, a $250 MP3 player was stolen from my room. (Ironically, this happened during an all hall meeting about the thefts.) Both my door and window were locked at the time. There was nothing that I could have done to prevent the theft through, as my locks had the same vulnerability as everyone else's.

I feel that the school should be somehow held responsible, as, (despite that only simple modifications to the door frame would prevent any breakins), we are not permitted to modify our doors or locks in any way. Furthermore, despite numerous confrontations and maintenance requests with those in authority, nothing has been done to improve the security.

My Question:

I am meeting with the Dean of Students on Monday and am looking for some sort of legal statute or law that would reinforce my argument, in hopes of being compensated for the theft. I am assuming that this would somehow fall under the category of negligence, but am unsure.

Does anyone know what this would be called or at least where I should look?


Thank you for bearing with me in such a lengthy post! I hope someone can help.

-Alan3322
 


CdwJava

Senior Member
Take a look at your residency contract (or whatever document you signed when you agreed to live at the dorm and abide by certain rules). I will guess that the contract contains language similar to: "The college is not responsible for theft or damage to your property ..."

While it would seem imperative that the school improve security, I doubt that they are going to voluntarily admit to any culpability. If you and the other students have the money, you may certainly consult an attorney and see on what grounds you might have a civil suit against the college ... if any.

- Carl
 

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