A $3,200 plasma screen television was stolen from the Syracuse University’s student-run television station, CitrusTV, during the week of July 11.

The television was missing from its usual spot on a cart in the Watson Hall studio on July 16, said CitrusTV General Manager Rich Levy. He said the cables were ripped out of the wall and unscrewed from the missing television, but there was no sign of forced entry.

Public Safety could not be reached for comment.

CitrusTV Sports Director Matt Maisel said he was the one who found that the television was missing.

Maisel said the television was extremely important to each one of the productions because it was part of the interview set.

‘The shows have looked better since its addition,’ he said.

Watson Hall Studio is closed during the summer, but members of the station stopped by to organize the studio occasionally, Levy said.

Maisel said on July 11 he was in the studio taking down everything on the walls because the studio was being painted. When he left that night, the painters came in and began working, he said.

The painters, who work for SU’s Fix-it, told Public Safety they made sure all of the doors were locked before they left the building, Maisel said.

But even with the doors locked, Maisel said anyone with a master key to the studio could have gotten in and, as a result, Maisel said he thinks it will be hard to find whoever stole the television.

CitrusTV put in an order for a new television, but Maisel said he thought the university would help the station out with money to replace the stolen one.

‘We thought that something like this would be insured by the university,’ Maisel said. ‘We don’t want to eat this, cause $3,200 is a lot to eat.’

CitrusTV may now look into getting security cameras and an SUID card reader, but the equipment is very expensive, Levy said.

‘We’d have to work with (the Student Association) to get those things though,’ Levy said.

Published on August 8, 2006 at 12:00 pm