By Molly Burke / Jambar Contributor
Senior Josh Grosswiller was leaving for Youngstown State University’s Homecoming celebrations when he found a pile of broken glass next to his car.
“I was supposed to go to my frat house for [parade float building], and I got to my car and realized that the window was broken on my driver side,” Grosswiller said.
He discovered the damage around 8 a.m. in the same overnight campus lot he’s parked in for two years.
“At first, I didn’t really think it was my car because I’ve never had anything like this. So, it was kind of like shock. Turns out, it was my car. I saw that the steering column was all broken into. The ignition was torn out,” Grosswiller said. “They tried to hijack and take the car.”
No property was stolen from his 2013 Hyundai Elantra, but the damage cost his family $1,500.
According to YSU Police Chief Shawn Varso, Grosswiller is not the only victim of attempted vehicle theft in the past few weeks and he’s not the only one with a Hyundai.
“We have had a few car break-ins on campus in the last couple of weeks. There has been an increase in stolen vehicles, both Kia and Hyundai in the city and other surrounding areas,” Varso said. “There were no vehicles taken from campus. However, there were a few attempted thefts on campus.”
According to CNN, certain models of Hyundai and Kias made before 2023 have been vulnerable to theft because they lack certain basic auto theft prevention technologies such as electronic immobilizers. The models saw a 1,000% increase in thefts from 2022 to the beginning of 2023.
On YSU’s campus, seven vehicle thefts were reported in 2023. 10 years prior, either one or zero thefts were reported — with an exception for 2017, which had four.
Varso said four of the seven thefts in 2023 were stolen Kias and Hyundais.
“The Kia and the Hyundai issue that came about where they were using USB drives to steal cars — we kind of fell victim to that same thing,” Varso said. “When the United States at large saw an increase in auto theft last year, it kind of trickled down to us.”
The impact can be seen in data from Clery reports across public universities in Northeast Ohio.
Cleveland State University’s campus had 29 vehicle thefts in 2023, compared to 12 in 2022 and one in 2021. The University of Akron had 10 in 2023, compared with one in 2022 and one in 2021.
Kent State University reported zero in 2023 and 2022 and one in 2021.
Of YSU’s other vehicle thefts last year, Varso said they were mostly preventable.
“One was an individual who left their keys in their car, and then another one was someone who borrowed the vehicle and parked it in another parking lot. So, it’s still considered an auto theft, but it wasn’t one of the traditional auto thefts,” Varso said.
Danny O’Connell, director of YSU Parking and Support Services, said parking lots are kept well-lit and behind gates to prevent crime. While police also monitor video cameras, O’Connell said they’re most useful in investigations.
“Cameras are not a preventative measure because the more cameras and the more people that know and see you have cameras, the more careful the people who are doing wrong to us are,” O’Connell said. “Where the cameras help the police is in an investigation after the fact, and even then it’s a long shot. It helps them get timelines and things like that.”
YSU also saw seven burglaries on campus last year. While there were six reported in 2019 and seven reported in 2017, it’s a spike from one reported in 2022 and three reported in 2021.
Varso said burglaries tend to increase as more students live on campus, but many cases are crimes of opportunity.
“Some of the cases we’ve had, it’s not a forced entry into an apartment or somewhere along those lines. It’s someone neglecting to lock their doors behind them when they leave. It’s an easy way to get in there,” Varso said. “You have to make sure you lock your stuff behind you when you leave.”
On-campus dorms and apartments are equipped with security cameras and residential parking lots are adjoining or kept in close proximity. Olivia Cupp, director of Housing and Residence Life, said the department supports students when they’re a victim of any crime.
“My team are frequently turned to as the resource or looked to for help in situations when students are really negatively impacted,” Cupp said. “The first thing that we really encourage the student to do after we verify that they are safe is we connect them with YSU police to make a report.”
While multiple departments work to ensure student safety, Varso said students can be proactive in preventing crime.
“Just something as simple that awareness — make sure you don’t have any expensive stuff out in the middle of your car where people can see it, make sure your car doors are locked, make sure you take your keys with you,” Varso said. “One of the biggest things that we rely on is the students, our faculty and staff actually letting us know if they see something suspicious.”
Varso said students should call YSU Police at 330-941-3527 rather than 911 for the quickest police, fire and EMS response on campus.