Illustrations by Kevin Xie
Eight thefts have occurred on campus within the past two months, and the culprit has yet to be found. In the wake of these thefts, most of which have involved backpacks being stolen from outside the dining hall, the school has implemented several measures aiming to prevent similar events from happening: key cards are now required to enter the day student lounges and students are encouraged to bring their bags into the dining hall.
There have been no additional incidents of theft since students have returned from spring break, and the school has not implemented any new policies in response to the thefts since the end of winter term. Instead, the administration is focusing on investigating the past thefts.
According to Mr. James Stanley, Dean of Students, there are no conclusive suspects at the moment. “There have been several pieces of information brought forward that we followed up on, but nothing concrete or clear has emerged. We just don’t know. If we knew, we’d be doing something. It’s frustrating.” He added, “One of the mysteries to me is that a good number of students have activated Find My iPhone or iPad. But the devices never pinged. Whoever took it must have somehow deactivated the setting without the devices turning on.”
Director of Community Safety Mr. Stephen Shea commented, “The investigation is still ongoing, and we’re still gathering as much information as possible. We have several things we’re working on as to who may be responsible for these thefts.” Furthermore, Community Safety has been collaborating and sharing information with the Wallingford police.
Nia Soto ’18, a victim of the thefts, said, “I think Community Safety handled the situation very well, because now there’s security around the vestibule area during lunch blocks. However, I would definitely like to know if the school had found anything out.”
The first instance of theft occurred on February 17, when three backpacks disappeared from the vestibule between the dining hall and Hill House common room. Lenny Sandberg ’17, another one of the victims, had placed his backpack on one of the benches; after returning from lunch, he realized his backpack was missing. Sandberg’s backpack contained various electronics, including a laptop, an iPad, and a camera.
He immediately notified Mr. Stanley; Mr. Tom Hill, Dining Hall Student Worker Coordinator; and Mr. Andrew Speyer, Director of Information Technology Services (ITS).
“I was surprised and thought that some student mistakenly took a backpack. Then when other students came to me stating their backpacks were also missing, I knew that we had a problem. I was saddened that someone would take students’ personal belongings,” said Mr. Hill.
Following the first wave of thefts, Mr. Stanley sent an all-school email on February 23, encouraging students to place their backpacks inside the dining hall. However, some students saw the email too late to heed the warning. Later that day, three backpacks vanished from the same area outside the dining hall.
Ben Wendel ’17, another victim, said, “When I walked into the dining hall to grab lunch, I checked my email and saw Mr. Stanley’s email to not put bags in the vestibule. But when I went back to the vestibule to get my bag, it was already gone.”
The next instance of theft did not occur in the vestibule, but rather in a day student lounge. On February 24, a day after the all-school email, a backpack disappeared from the third-form lounge.
In light of the new development in the thefts, Mr. Stanley announced new preventative measures to the student body via an all-school email. Since February 26, a Choate card has been required for access to the third-, fourth-, and fifth-form lounges. In the email, Mr. Stanley also encouraged students to use their lockers in Hill House, the gym, and the Larry Hart pool.
“The majority of these bags were taken just outside the dining hall, in a place that historically has been safe, but for whatever reason is not anymore. So we have told students to move bags into the senior section as opposed to leaving them in the vestibule. Either Mr. Hill or a member of Community Safety has been in the vestibule, too, reminding students to move their bags into the dining hall,” said Mr. Stanley.
Despite these efforts, however, another bag was stolen from the vestibule on February 27.
Although the school has yet to identify the culprit, several stolen backpacks have reappeared on campus without all of their contents.
On February 23, two bags were stolen, but found later that day on North Elm Street. Soto recounted, “Around 3:30 p.m., Community Safety came to my dorm, and they had retrieved my backpack and all of my books. My keys were still in there, but everything else — my iPad, calculator, prescription medication — was all gone. I was stressed, because I didn’t know what kind of information someone could already have obtained from my bag. I also lost a lot of notes that I took on my iPad, which was very inconvenient, since the term-end experiences were just around the corner.”
On February 26, a bag was found outside the fourth-form lounge. Around that time, another bag was found on Curtis Avenue.
The school has taken various actions to help the victims of these thefts. Choate has lent laptops and iPads to students who lost their electronic devices and has replaced the devices free of charge for students who had received them through financial aid.
Wendel commented, “I think the school accommodated the students very well. Putting up signs, sending emails, lending or even replacing students’ electronic devices — you can see the school really cares about the students in these cases.”
Mr. Stanley observed, “One of the things that is so upsetting about this case is that this is a really trusting campus. Students feel safe here, and they should feel safe here.”
He added, “When thefts like these happen, they tear the trust of the community, and that’s heartbreaking. This is a relatively open campus, and that’s a part of what we like about the school. When people come through, we trust the people coming through, and we want to continue doing that.”
He anticipates that the policy of having students place their bags inside the dining hall instead of the vestibule will be in effect for the foreseeable future.
In conclusion, Mr. Shea remarks, “I think the best thing that can happen is an increased awareness on the students’ part regarding leaving their items. We have been in the area outside the dining hall where the thefts mostly took place, but our presence alone is not going to stop every theft — we can’t be everywhere. But I hope the thefts send a message of being more aware of our own belongings.”
