Where o where is my little... zip drive?

Logging off of her computer in the Magnet computer lab one day, junior Alexandra Perry noticed something wrong. It was not one of the more common errors that she had come into contact with before, such as a frozen computer or a slow network. Instead, she noticed that something was missing.

The computer's iomega zip drive was missing, to be exact. Just the zip drive. Not its little stand or even its extension cord. Strange, since zip drives, which allow students to use one large disc instead of many small ones, do not work without extension cords. "It was . . . someone who knew what they wanted," says network specialist Peter Hammond.

The zip drive is not the only piece of equipment that has been stolen at Blair. The whole school has experienced multiple thefts. A computer disappeared over the summer, along with a digital camera.

However, thefts have gone down in recent years. "We haven't had a lot of equipment stolen lately," says network specialist Anne Wisniewski. Thefts were more frequent when the new Blair first opened, with people opening computers and stealing the parts.

"We lost a lot more the first [year] than in the second and third," says Wisniewski. To counteract the thefts, Wisniewski said, security screws were placed on the computers.

Nowadays, the items most frequently stolen from the school's computer labs are mouse balls. The little balls are favorite toys of many students who find it amusing to sneak off with them.

Even the newer optical mice, which use lasers to pinpoint their positions on the screen, in some of the computer labs, are not immune to these sorts of problems. Those mice are simply just stolen.

Blair is insured against most thefts, though most of the items stolen have not been worth enough to collect insurance for them. The stolen zip drive was $153, and the optical mice were anywhere from $15-20. A spare zip drive replaced the one that was stolen, and cheaper mice and mouse balls were scouted out to replace those stolen or lost.

Teachers are an important factor in keeping students from stealing computer parts, and Wisniewski says that they are improving. With teacher supervision, students will be less likely to steal. "Teachers are learning," she says of the improvement in teacher supervision of computer labs. When the new Blair first opened, teachers were inexperienced with supervising a computer lab. Now they know how to watch out for stealthy activities.

The thefts have resulted in heightened security in such places as the Magnet computer labs. Zip drives, mice, and even keyboards are wire-tied to the computer monitors. Backpacks and large jackets are forbidden from entering and staying in the lab as well. "We'll probably be doing some more," says Hammond. However, Hammond does hope that in the future, labs will continue to be available to the rest of the school to use.

That hope will rest on the shoulders of students, and whether or not thefts of computer equipment continue.