Large amounts of personal property were taken from the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house early Friday morning, Division of Public Safety and Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs officials said.
DPS spokeswoman Stef Cella wrote in an e-mail that they believe the theft was perpetrated by a guest of one of the fraternity brothers who stayed at the house Thursday night.
In the morning both the guest and property were missing, wrote Cella.
Items stolen include laptops, cell phones and iPods, but the exact value of the items is unknown, she added.
The guest was seen in the house as late as 4 a.m. on Friday morning but was no longer in the building at 8:30 a.m., according to Cella.
"We're still trying to figure out what happened," said OFSA director Scott Reikofski. "We're working closely with the chapter to make sure everybody is safe and secure."
Although the brothers are still trying to determine exactly what was stolen, Reikofski said the amount was "significant."
"It wasn't just a quick grab and run," he said.
SAE President and College senior Matthew Green would not comment on the theft.
A string of burglaries have taken place at fraternity houses this semester, though Friday's incident at SAE does not follow the pattern of those crimes.
According to David Ashkenazi, the president of the Interfraternity Council and College and Wharton senior, although the events of Friday morning have been the most serious so far, there have been enough incidents in the past few months to warrant University attention.
"It seems like fraternity houses are being targeted more than they have been in the past," Reikofski said.
In many of these previous cases, fraternity members had left windows and doors unlocked or wide open, which created a "crime of opportunity for a stranger to enter," Cella wrote.
While she added that several of these burglaries have been resolved due to "diligent and thorough police work," she emphasized the need for students to lock their doors and windows and secure their personal property.
The fraternities are working with OFSA, the Undergraduate Assembly and DPS to come up with a plan to tackle the situation because "having things stolen in the middle of the night from University property is absolutely unacceptable," said Ashkenazi.
In response to the incidents, OFSA has reminded fraternity brothers over the past few weeks through e-mails to make sure their doors are locked and no uninvited guests are in the house before they leave, said Reikofski.
However, he added that many students simply don't pay much attention to these messages "until something like this happens."
"I think this is going to be a little bit of a wake-up call," said Ashkenazi.
