Donors Ease Sting of Computer Lab Theft

Most of the deaf students in Pierce College instructor Norm Crozer’s English class Wednesday hadn’t heard about the theft of five high-tech computers from the campus Special Services computer lab over Memorial Day weekend.

But they were enjoying the benefits of a generous community, using new and reconditioned computers to learn how to construct a proper sentence.

To show their gratitude, the Special Services staff and students will hold an open house today to show off the newly equipped lab to their benefactors.

Crozer, director of Special Services, also will unveil a plaque bearing the donors’ names that hang in the now-secured lab.

“It was a lot of work and a lot of time, but we would never have been able to do this if not for them,” Crozer said.

The lab is even better than it was before the theft of the best five of its 11 computers, Crozer said, and the recovery came about much sooner than any of the staff had imagined.

“We ended up with more capability that we had before,” he said. “It was a long summer, but it was worth it.”

The office received approximately $3,400 in donations plus 14 computers and expects to receive another six computers from a charitable foundation within a few weeks.

The computers are used by the college’s deaf population, as well as students who are quadriplegic, blind or who have learning disabilities.

Although they weren’t aware of how close they’d come to doing without the computers this year, the students said they were grateful for them.

One student, a native of France, said that as a mother of four hearing children, she wanted to learn English as well as they have.

“It’s hard for me to understand sometimes,” said Simone Ouaknine. “But I want to understand, for my life.”