Wednesday
March 10, 2010
Students stealing across campus
A kleptomaniac is known as someone who has a strong urge to steal small, mostly useless items. This is different from the typical thief, who steals for the monetary value of the items. It appears that Indiana Wesleyan University has a few practicing kleptomaniacs.
Sarah Melford, campus police coordinator, says that thefts aren’t often reported to campus police. The most common reported theft, according to Melford, is bicycle thefts, but those do not occur very often.
While students are not stealing bicycles, cars, or robbing banks, many students love to collect useless items from around campus.
Perhaps the most common place stolen from is Baldwin cafeteria. A couple students, who will remain anonymous, have admitted to stealing various items from Baldwin such as crouton containers, napkin containers, cups, plates, and various decorations from Baldwin. These students said the decorations they steal from Baldwin and throughout the rest of the student center are used to decorate their living room.
James Lipetri, Food Service Director at IWU, says he catches students stealing from Baldwin frequently.
“I’ve caught people taking bags of cereal, loaves of bread, and loading their book bags with fruit,” said Lipetri. “Baldwin is set up as a buffet where students are to come in and eat as much as they want. Students are not supposed to take various food items out of Baldwin.”
Lipetri also added that he has noticed a photograph missing from one of the walls in Baldwin. That photograph was reported to be seen in a student’s dorm room.
While some students steal for practical reasons such as decorating their room or stocking up on groceries, others steal for the sport of it. A few anonymous students devised an arbitrary point system for items they stole from campus. When one would bring back a stolen item, the others would agree on a point value for that item, and the person with the most points at the end of the year won.
Another anonymous student was proud of the massive Christmas ornament they snagged off the Christmas tree located in the piazza last year; however, they got caught and were forced to return the ornament.
A final secret student has stolen anywhere from 15-20 Resident Assistant and Resident Director nameplates from the residence hall doors. This student collects the nameplates for fun and has to hide them during room checks.
When one of these unnamed students was asked why they wanted to be known as an anonymous source, they responded, “I don’t want anyone to find out that I am stealing, that way I can keep doing it.”
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Tags: campus news
