 "Photo: Erik Castro")
Six undergraduate students are facing burglary charges after breaking into the University's underground tunnel system on Friday, May 14. The students entered the tunnels through a manhole at the north end of Gearing Hall and followed it to a basement that houses machines in the Main Building, setting off a silent alarm.
According to a police report, electrical engineering junior Paul Gunter removed a loose grate north of Gearing Hall, entered the tunnel system, made his way through a machine room to a stairwell and let the other students into the locked building. Gunter and computer science sophomore Alyssa Leangsuksun, advertising junior Meredith McKenney, electrical engineering junior Samuel Placette, biochemistry junior Alan Yee and mechanical engineering senior Alejandro Lago then made their way back into the tunnels, where they found another machine room and a set of bolt cutters. Gunter cut a chain on a gate in the tunnel north of the Main Building, through which the students entered the basement.
All six students refused comment or did not immediately return phone calls. The case is currently under review by Student Judicial Services, said UTPD Lt. Ronald Stalder.
"At the time, that entrance [north of Gearing Hall] had not been shut," said Miles Abernathy, associate director of utilities and energy management, the department in charge of tunnel access and security. "I think that grate had been that way a long time, but no one had noticed it."
Authorized University personnel are issued keys to tunnel entrances. Entry points like the ones the students used are scattered around campus. Abernathy would not comment on how many tunnel entrances exist on campus.
"It's a Homeland Security issue," he said. "We've been aware of the security aspects of the tunnels for a long time. We became more conscious of the security needs after 9-11."
Abernathy said his department was checking to make sure no other entrances are unsealed.
"We did a survey to try to find out if there were any other entrances that were just bolted and not welded," Abernathy said. "As we find unsecured locations, we will close them up."
UTPD officials say the current security system is adequate.
"I think we've got a good system in place, and I think the apprehension of six individuals shows how the system works," Stalder said.
Tunnel security has been an ongoing concern for campus officials. In May, Mark Miller, a physics freshman, was questioned by FBI and Secret Service agents affiliated with the Austin Joint Terrorism Task Force after filing an open records request for information about the campus tunnel systems.
Tunnel security is "laughable," and getting into the system is relatively easy since many campus buildings with access points are often unlocked, Miller said.
"You can go through it with wire cutters," he added. "There's nothing preventing people who are determined to get there."
Miller said the attraction to the tunnels is the thrill of exploration.
"It's just kind of fun to explore places where not many people have been to, and I'm kind of into those things," he said. "There's no real undiscovered land these days, so it's fun to do other stuff."
Underground tunnel systems connect campus buildings and carry fiber optics and utility cables, as well as steam and chilled water for heating and air conditioning. Abernathy said the tunnels are simply utility networks and that he did not understand why people find them so interesting.
"They're really just hallways, much less interesting when you're down there than when you imagine what you'll find," he said.
After Sept. 11, 2001, some urban explorers found that access to campus tunnels became harder.
"I've tried a couple of times since then, and it's a lot harder," said Kevin, a recent graduate who would not give his last name. "There seem to be more access points that have been locked down."
Kevin said he was drawn to the tunnels by "the rush of trespassing and wandering around the creepy parts of campus."
He said he has sneaked into the football stadium, Bass Concert Hall and at least 12 other campus buildings in the last five years.
"Most of the people down there are doing it for simple fun, just being mischievous students," he said. "So I'm not too worried about Homeland Security."
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