Recently on the Colorado State University-Pueblo campus, two students have been victims of vandalism of their vehicles while parked in the campus parking lots.

On Sept. 25 after dark, two students had their cars vandalized in two separate parking lots on campus. One was located in the parking lot behind the Culebra dorms, and the other was located in the resident Walking Sticks apartment lot.

The first vehicle, which was parked behind the dorms, had red paint thrown on it. The paint was reported to look like water paint, which would wash off easily, however this is still considered a serious offense and is being treated that way.

The second vehicle, which was parked in the Walking Sticks lot, was covered in paint and egg. The front and rear windshields and the driver’s side window were smashed in, and both mirrors were ripped off.

Because these were two isolated incidents, Lt. Bill Brown does not believe that CSU-Pueblo’s campus has serious issues with vandalism in the parking lots.

It is also assumed that even though these two acts happened in the same night, the vandals were not targeting anyone in particular.

“The better the lighting the better the chances of nothing happening are, although, I don’t think poor lighting played a part in this. Even with brightly lit places, nothing solves this kind of problem,” Brown said.

Although he does not consider the campus parking lots dangerous, Brown did say that the number one way to stay safe is to be aware of your surroundings and always call in and report any suspicious activities.

If at any point a student does not feel safe walking alone, they can call campus security for an escort to any location on campus. They will walk with you from one building to another, from a building to your car or from your car to a building, even in the resident halls.

Students who are on campus and feel threatened can use the emergency call boxes on campus to contact help. The calls put in on these emergency call boxes are radioed directly to the Pueblo Sheriff’s communication center, where all 911 calls are directed.

The response time for one of these calls depends primarily on the location of the officer on campus, but at any of the 15 locations on campus it should not take more than a few minutes.

“The emergency call boxes aren’t used on a daily bases because so many people have cell phones now, but they are still used in some instances,” Brown said.

A student can use the emergency boxes to call if they do not know the direct number to contact campus security, or if they lock their phone or their keys in their car.