Peter Soons, director of Campus Security, has obtained and released video images to the Echo, connected with a a recent theft in Alliot on the St. Michael’s campus.
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Video surveillance taken from the second floor of Alliot. Any information regarding the identity of this person should be directed to RJ Vallie at x2374. (Video courtesy of Peter Soons) |
The video, captured on the morning of April 4, shows a young male dressed in black, carrying a backpack, which Soons has identified as senior Michelle Kayser's. The bag was taken from outside of Alliot and returned after $35 was removed, he says. Soons is requesting help from the St. Michael's community in identifying this person in regards to the incident.
In a separate case, Soons has obtained photos from Blockbuster video in South Burlington, of a blonde-haired female using a stolen membership card belonging to a St. Michael's student, Soons also told the Echo. The card, among other items, was stolen from Ross Sports Center in March, he says. The female has been identified and questioned, Soons says. However, he would not provide any additional information regarding the case, including whether she is a St. Michael's student or not.
These are two of the 13 thefts that have occurred on-campus this spring semester, Soons says: four outside of Alliot cafeteria; and seven from Ross and Tarrant, five of which occurred during of the month of March. The remaining two incidents happened elsewhere on campus, he says. All cases with leads are being actively worked on, Soons adds.
A quick steal
Hustling to grab a bagel and banana before she caught the 10:45 a.m. bus up north on April 4, Michelle Kayser threw down her backpack outside the cafeteria’s doors.
In less than two minutes, Kayser says she left the cafeteria only to find her backpack missing. Thinking that a student had taken her bag by mistake, she re-entered the cafeteria and informed staff member Marion Munsell of the situation, she says.
Upon exiting for the second time, Kayser found her bag, but not in its original place. Kayser, happy that it had been returned, was about to leave when Munsell suggested that she sort through her belongings to check if everything was still there. Opening her wallet, Kayser discovered that $35 along with whatever amount she had in coins was missing, she says.
Kayser, who has traveled to France, Germany, Belgium, Turkey and Washington, D.C., has never been a victim of theft, she says.
“Here of all places,” she says. “I grew up in Vermont and I don’t think the one place that I’m from is where I should be afraid of having my things stolen.”
She is surprised and disappointed, she says.
“If our values say we’re all about community, then why is our community doing this to us?”
The money was to be put towards birthday presents for her mother and her friend, Kayser says. The theft was not only hurtful, but also an inconvenience, causing her to be late for work and to go hungry, she says.
Prevention possibilities
Kayser refuses to ever leave her bag outside of the cafeteria again and questions the current security situation, she says.
“I think first and foremost and at the bottom level, there should be cameras by the cubbies which there already are, but they just weren’t turned on,” she says.
Cameras were not yet installed outside of the cafeteria, Soons says. Two were installed over the second weekend of the month and were connected on April 14.
Kayser is disappointed that the school is not being more proactive, she says. She questions why there are not signs around the cubbies outside of the cafeteria, warning students to remove valuables or leave their bags in their rooms. The only signs currently being circulated encourage students to lock their doors, and to remember to bring their keys with them.
Soons stresses that Campus Security is doing everything it possibly can.
“We address what we believe we can address,” he says. “We look at the circumstances around a lot of the thefts and I hate to say it, but unfortunately there is one common denominator—students are leaving their rooms unlocked or their personal items unattended.”
Kayser says she may take matters into her own hands, taking measures to warn students that their property may be stolen if left unattended.
The cameras are not enough, she says, suggesting that a security guard keep watch over students' bags during meal times.
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A video image from the second floor of Alliot. The male is carrying Michelle Kayser's backpack, according to Soons. (Image courtesy of Peter Soons) |
Michael Samara, dean of students, says this is an option he would rather not pursue.
“Let’s let the cameras work before we move to a situation such as that,” he says. “I’d hate to create a police state.”
The bookstore’s security gaurd, utilized during the initial buying as well as end of the year sell back, is an expense that the bookstore bears, and not the student population, Soons says. The need for a guard is due to the high number of transactions occurring, he says.
As for backpacks being allowed in the cafeteria, opinions are varied. Backpacks are not allowed for safety reasons, according to Munsell, who sits on the safety committee for Sodexho dining hall.
“It’s a safety hazard,” she says. “[Students] trip over them, which is extremely dangerous because they’re carrying trays of hot food.”
Safety, while an issue is not the main issue—theft is, says Hank Strashnick, general manager of Sodexho food services at St. Michael’s. Sodexho is concerned that students will try to stuff their bags with food.
"Just because [students] can go up as many times as they’d like, doesn’t mean they can walk out with as much as they’d like,” Strashnick says.
Although Sodehxo has suggested that bags not be allowed in the cafeteria, the final decision comes down to the college, he says.
“It’s up to the school to say yes or no to the parameters,” Strashnick says. “Sodexho just gives the budget and makes suggestions.”
While the unlimited meal plan was found to be the most cost-effective fit for the school, if students hoard food in their backpacks, the prices for meal plans will go up, and the quality of food may go down, according to Strashnick.
“You’re paying for the education part, the food and the room is the separate accommodation part,” he says.
Students with backpacks containing items of value are welcome to leave their bags by a staff member at the card swiping machine, Strashnick says.
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One of the two cameras installed outside the cafeteria the second weekend of April. (Photo by Kaitlin Couillard) |
Strashnick does not support the placement of a security guard, saying cameras and personal awareness should be enough of a deterrent.
“College students have to be aware that sometimes the world isn’t such a great place,” he says.
While Strashnick acknowledges the gravity of the thefts, in retrospect the number of incidents is low, he says.
“We serve in Alliot over the course of the school year some 600,000 meals,” he says. “The risk or potential is incredibly low.”
The risk increases for students who leave their bags unlocked in Ross.
Senior Johanna Wildnauer had her jacket, cell phone and ipod stolen from the girl’s locker room while she was swimming laps. She was swimming for roughly 45 minutes, Wildnauer says. The locker containing her bag was not locked.
“After four years I have a pretty good trust for St. Mike's,” she says. “I don’t think this trust is misplaced.”
While disappointed, Wildnauer says she takes full responsibility for her missing property, and is working with members of Security whom she says are doing all that they can.
Catching the culprit
Wildnauer’s disappointment is felt throughout the campus.
“It’s just not what makes up the fiber of this community,” Samara says.
Junior Molly Dever who discovered a white male going through her backpack prior to the rash of thefts, feels guilty for not doing more at the time, she says.
One day in March, Dever had exited the cafeteria only to find someone going through her Vera Bradley bag. She confronted the individual, saying “Excuse me!” and was told he was looking for his book in someone else’s bag, she says. Dever was suspicious, but too caught up in the moment to ask for his name, she says.
“I was so pissed that I didn’t think to do anything except get my bag away from him,” Dever says.
There should not be the need to bring bags into the cafeteria, she says.
“I really hope they get caught because it’s ridiculous that we have to worry about our backpacks, these things that we bring to class,” Dever says. “We should be able to leave our bags outside of the cafeteria, and it’s too dangerous and crowded to begin with to bring them into the cafeteria.”
Dever has viewed the video from Kayser’s theft, and it is not the same individual she found going through her bag, she says.
Although the number of thefts occurring outside of Alliot seems high, as of now, last year’s number was higher: Two during the spring semester and two during the fall semester, while there have been only three this year, but all occurring during the spring semester, according to Soons. The number of total thefts, however, is on the rise, he says.
“This is a troubling trend,” Soons says. “The numbers are starting to climb. Hopefully the cameras will provide a deterrent.
It has yet to be determined if the culprit(s) are St. Michael’s students. While Munsell believes the person or persons responsible are non-students, Wildnauer disagrees.
“My theory is that a student is responsible for the thefts, and I really hate to think that, but unfortunately I think that’s true,” Wildnauer says.
Until the culprit(s) are caught, as well as to prevent future incidents, Soons, Samara and victims of theft suggest that students leave their bags in their room if possible and if not, that they remove all personal items of value.
If students notice that their items are missing, they can call security and an incident report will be generated. The Colchester Police Department is aware of all thefts that have occurred and have the option to take action, Soons says. For now, security is looking for any assistance in identifying possible culprits.