Junior pep band member Bryn Souza left the Hill residence hall on Dec. 11. She loaded her car with her clothes and belongings and then she went back to her dorm room to put her other possessions in a secure place.

In her room she left, among many other items, at least seven textbooks, notes, binders, other books and a trombone. When she arrived back at school on Jan. 19, she began to unpack without noticing that a few of her belongings were missing.

“The first time I started looking for my things was when I needed a blank notebook for class,” Souza said. “My roommates and I searched everywhere, and I even called home and an on-campus friend to make sure that I didn’t misplace it.”

Souza then filed a report at security. She walked to the band room in Dana with a security guard to see if the trombone could have possibly been left or moved to a closet there.

According to Souza, some resident assistants have the key to this closet, and there were previous incidents where some of the pep band’s instruments were either damaged or missing.

Souza said she thought that this might have been a practical joke or a malicious act towards her.

“But I’m pretty sure I don’t have enemies that would go to great lengths to do that…The more I look, it seems like it’s something that I did.”

In retrospect, Souza said she feels that it is her fault because she did not take the extra precaution of using a lock and key. She said she is still wondering, however, why anyone would want her books.

“They are very mundane and I think that the most expensive book I had was a dictionary,” she said. “There are a lot of very large questions. I am curious and mystified. If I ever leave stuff in my room again, I will definitely use a lock and key.”

Souza hinted at a feeling of insecurity and confusion.

“My roommate left her violin in plain sight, while I had my instrument in my closet buried under a pile of clothes,” she said. “If we are talking about value, a violin and physical therapy textbooks are worth more than a trombone and public relations textbooks.”

Last Saturday Souza had to play at a men’s hockey game with a borrowed trombone.

A distraught Souza said she hopes her instrument shows up and is asking anyone who sees anything suspicious to report it to security.

“This is a reason to put names in books,” she said.

Souza summed it all up by saying the whole thing is just weird.

John Twining, chief of Security and Safety, said he urges students to report any incident.

“If students were victims of a crime they should contact the security department,” he said. “They can call x6200 or come to the office and report this to the dispatcher.”

Twining said the only incident reported to security was the missing trombone. According to the investigator, he has left several messages for the victim to contact him.

In Twining’s opinion, the campus residence halls are safe. He said they are locked 24 hours a day and each student’s room can be locked as well.

“The safety of the residents and their possessions is ultimately up to the residents,” he said. “The residence halls are only as safe as they make them.”