MACOMB, IL — A student forgets to lock her residence hall room before heading to the dining hall, and when she returns just a short time later, not only is her laptop missing from her room, but her friend\'s laptop and phone are also long gone. According to Western Illinois University Office of Public Safety Officers, falling victim to this kind of crime happens far too often at Western and at other college campuses, yet it\'s easy to prevent. To show how quickly a theft from an unlocked residence hall room can take place, Zach Schar (Oswego, IL), a senior in Western\'s broadcasting department, led the production of the video \"Lock Your Door.\" The video was produced entirely by Western students and is the first installment of a campus safety video series available for viewing on Western\'s YouTube channel. The series—produced through Schar\'s and Amy Koeller\'s work as student content producers in University Relations and a partnership with OPS—will highlight, through short vignettes, campus safety topics. \"We, along with University Housing staff, continually tell students the easiest way to prevent theft from occurring is to simply lock your door. Yet, somehow our message doesn\'t always seem to be heard. As a result, students find themselves reporting thefts of cash, electronics, textbooks and other items from their unlocked residence hall room. It is our hope that by illustrating through this video just how easy it is for someone to enter an unlocked room and make off with several items in a matter of seconds, we can get the message across to our students that they must lock their doors, even if leaving for only a few minutes,\" said WIU OPS Director Scott Harris. \"While the video content itself is serious, it\'s done in a rather humorous way, which we hope appeals to our campus community.\" The video features Emily Nation (Taylorville, IL), sophomore, business; Alex Johnson (Geneva, IL), senior, business; OPS Officer Jim Van Vlyman; and OPS Detective Sarah Worthington. The next two videos in the series, produced by Schar, will showcase OPS\'s RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) program and the OPS/student patrol escort system. \"We appreciate the efforts of Zach and Amy, and of University Relations, for promoting what the Office of Public Safety provides to make this campus as safe as possible,\" Harris noted. For more information about safety at WIU, contact Harris at (309) 298-1949, or visit http://wiu.edu/safety.