Burglars made off with thousands of dollars in electronics from an NIU fraternity house in one of a rash of Thanksgiving break thefts.

Fours stereos, five televisions, two video tape recorders, two computers, three speaker sets, two video games and one boom box were stolen sometime between Wednesday and Friday from the Kappa Sigma Fraternity house, 827 Charles, said DeKalb Police Lt. Dick Moudy Monday.

“They came in through a window and left a door propped open so they could get back in after they took a load out,” said Eric Harms, 20, Kappa Sigma social chair.

Nine of the house’s 17 bedrooms were burglarized, but a large screen TV in the commons area wasn’t taken because it probably was too heavy to move beyond the middle of the room, Harms said.

But the house wasn’t ransacked. “It’s strange. There were CDs and wine glasses on the stereos and they took them off and set them down carefully. It’s like they weren’t in a hurry,” said Kappa Sigma Jeff Fischer, 20.

None of the fraternity members thought to take their valuables home for the holidays, Harms said.

NIU students should make sure they don’t leave expensive items in DeKalb for burglars to steal when they return home for Christmas break, Moudy said.

“Anything you have that you cherish—take it home for the holidays. It might require a little extra work, but at least you know when you return your property will be there,” he said.

If students don’t take their valuables home for the holidays they should have someone check their home several times a day, Moudy said.

Burglars also entered a Greenbrier Road apartment through an unlocked window sometime between Wednesday and Thursday and stole $2,000 in stereo equipment, Moudy said.

More electronics valued at $1,659 were stolen from an apartment at Stadium View Apartments/Condominiums, 1231 West Lincoln Hwy., he said.

Although the burglaries happened at about the same time, “I wouldn’t say they were all committed by the same people,” Moudy said.