Brazen thefts in colleges stun masters, Yale police investigating

At least three Yale colleges have reported thefts from their public spaces in the last week.

University police and Pierson Master Harvey Goldblatt are investigating several thefts in the college over the weekend. In two e-mail messages sent to Pierson students, Goldblatt said that a ping-pong table and a new chair had been reported missing and likely stolen from common spaces, and that several other items were missing from summer storage spaces.

Goldblatt said Monday night he was investigating the thefts and declined to comment until he conducted a full investigation.

In a separate incident, University police received an anonymous phone call reporting a burglary in progress in the Berkeley dining hall around 2 a.m. Sunday. Yale Police Chief James Perrotti said the responding officers found “several Yale and non-Yale students standing inside the kitchen.”

Perrotti said the kitchen, which is supposed to be locked at night, did not show any signs of forced entry. No charges were filed against the students, and the incident was referred to the Berkeley dean and master.

Berkeley Dean George Levesque told police he allowed students access to the dining hall, but said the kitchen was off-limits.

In addition, Morse Master Frank Keil sent an e-mail to students Sept. 19 in which he informed them that a Sony Playstation 2 was reported missing from the college’s common room about 24 hours after it was installed.

Keil said Monday night the Playstation had not been

returned, adding that a cable glued to the back of the console was pried off when it was taken.

–Andrew Paciorek

Government gives grants for counseling, planning

The U.S. Department of Education will give Connecticut schools $500,000 to help students and teachers affected by the World Trade Center attacks, Education Secretary Rod Paige announced Monday.

The funds, which will be given to the state Education Department, will be used to provide counseling for students and teachers, to hire substitute teachers and to help schools plan for future crises.

The funds will come from a $10 million emergency appropriation Congress created to meet the needs of schools in the aftermath of the attacks.

DeLauro council seeks to combat youth violence

U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, who represents New Haven, launched the 2001 Anti-Crime Youth Council at East Haven High School Monday.

The forum included a presentation by Ray Rahane, a battalion chief at the Littleton (Colo.) Fire Department, who was on scene during the 1999 Columbine High School shootings.

“The events of Sept. 11 have shown us how much work there is to be done to prevent violence and promote tolerance here in our communities, in our country and throughout the world,” DeLauro said.