The residents of Gilbert Hall have expressed their concerns about the safety of both persons and vehicles in regard to Lot V.

Lot V, “a remote and secluded parking lot surrounded by a field on one side and the Kishwaukee River on the other,” is the parking lot designated for Gilbert residents. Tuesday night, Gilbert Hall Council voted to create a committee aimed at taking action on Lot V, said Gilbert resident Monika Kuta, one of the committee’s organizers.

Kuta said she had attempted last year to get Campus Parking Committee to move 100 parking spaces for Gilbert residents from Lot V to Lots 1 and 2, located directly across Lucinda, after a large outbreak of vandalism involving student vehicles parked in Lot V. Her attempt was unsuccessful.

Last year’s incidents included keying, mirror and emblem removal, several break-ins and the theft of one vehicle. More creative vandalism included the entrance of a manhole cover through the rear window of one vehicle and the attachment of a license plate to another vehicle’s bumper with a power tool, she said.

The major concern of residents, however, is not for their vehicles but for themselves and fellow residents, Kuta said.

Complaints include the lack of lighting on Kishwaukee Dr. between Gilbert and Lot V, placement of the police call box across the street and “nearly 100 feet away” and the area’s secluded nature, said Gilbert Hall Council President Shana Kurash.

Kuta also cited the latest attacks on student couples by large groups as evidence that “the buddy-system doesn’t work.”

The committee will address the education of students on safety issues and the necessity to report incidents of vandalism which occur on the lot.

Kuta also stressed the importance of reporting vandalism upon students’ vehicles to the University Police so an accurate number of incidents can be recorded.

She said lack of documentation was one of the main reasons the attempted lot move was unsuccessful. Students said they didn’t report incidents because “they (the perpetrators) wouldn’t get caught,” and “my insurance premium would go up,” she said.