During move-in week, residents in Florence Moore Hall (FloMo) faced a burglary and a water main break, leaving some students without their belongings and others without running water in the early hours of the morning.
The chain of robberies occurred on Sept. 17, when unidentified individuals stole from six unlocked rooms in the Gavilan wing of FloMo in the time span of one hour.
Ramsey Gordon ’24 was one of the unlucky few whose belongings were stolen. He returned to his room from sophomore welcome events to find several of his possessions had disappeared.
“I was looking for my hoodie, and I couldn’t find it. I realized that everything had been gone, so I went downstairs, I spoke to the [Resident Fellow], and I ended up calling the police,” Gordon said.
The police arrived on the scene later that night and discovered Gordon’s stolen property hidden underneath laundry at the bottom of the hall’s staircase. The police speculated that someone entered the residence, most likely dressed as a student, while students were downstairs, according to Gordon. He added that it was very lucky that the police came when they did.
Not every victim of the burglary received back their property, according to Stanford University Department of Public Safety (SUDPS) spokesperson Bill Larson. At this time, there are no leads on the burglar. Following the break-in, all FloMo residents received emails from the housing service center, reminding them to lock their doors when leaving their room. Resident assistants (RAs) also posted reminders in GroupMe chats.
Larson added that “the Department of Public Safety patrols the areas around student residences and provides safety and security tips during resource fairs and other opportunities when engaging with students.”
As one case ended, another problem arose at FloMo. Just two days after the burglary, residents were left without running water for a night after a water main broke near the Enchanted Broccoli Forest. Residents recall toilets not flushing, sinks not turning on and showers not working.
“I was mildly annoyed, but we were fortunate to have a great housing staff — everything was fixed by the next morning,” said Adri Kornfein ’25.
For RAs, the break-in and water shortage were beyond scope of challenges they expected to confront in the first few days on campus. FloMo RA and former Daily editor Amy Lo ’23 said the incidents were a lot to process, especially because she is also a student and is starting school alongside her residents.
“You go into the role of an RA, expecting to deal with different issues with your dorm and with students, but both of those incidents felt like things out of our control,” Lo said. “With thousands of students coming to campus, I think the incidents are a result of us struggling to come back in a safe way.”