Students and faculty returned to two school SUVs with popped back windows and no back seats after attending the Student Diversity Leadership Conference in Anaheim on Dec. 2. The theft is an example of a trend in Orange County to steal third-row seats of cars with rear-hatch windows, according to the OC Register.

“At first I thought it was a prank or something,” attendee Sam Lingard ’19 said. “The more we looked into we realized they were actually gone and someone stole them.”

Chaperone Melanie Leon contacted the parking security, who said that such thefts are common in the area and that they could not identify the thief because the cars were both parked out of the range of security cameras.

The OC Register reported that thieves resell the seats for up to $1,500 each, and the seats cost about $3,500 to replace.

Despite the theft, students said that the conference was a valuable experience.

While at the conference, students broke into affinity groups to discuss different ways that people can be diverse.

“I learned that diversity isn’t just about race, but it’s about so many different things,” Lingard said.