We’ve all heard of it, and it’s all happened to one of our friends or family members. Someone left a backpack or purse unattended and later found that valuables are curiously missing. Whether it’s a phone, iPod, or wallet, discovering one of your items has been stolen isn’t the end of the world, but it sure is upsetting. Almost a month ago, my new iPhone was stolen out of my backpack in the girls’ locker room as I went to the bathroom before going back to change out of my gym clothes and into my normal outfit. It was disturbing, and of course, I reported it to our school police officer, Officer Melbourne. He was very consoling about it, but it was clear even then I wasn’t going to get it back. Officer Melbourne reported that in that same day, three other smart phones had been stolen. A month later I’m still stuck with a semi-functioning iPhone 3G that has an irritating habit of turning itself off at all hours of the day and night. However less angry or sad I am about having my property stolen, I am concerned for it happening again to someone else. We all know that phones are expensive, the more top-of-the-line Apple and Samsung phone price around 1,000 dollars without a contract from a phone service provider. Most of the students around JHS don’t have the money to replace a lost or stolen phone, especially if they pay for most of their material expenses themselves, like I do.
JHS student, Cheyanne Jockish reports knowing a boy that had his Beats pill speakers stolen out of his bag during the 30 minutes he left his bag unattended in a classroom. As students, we should be here to get an education, and we shouldn’t have to worry about the constant threat of having our property stolen, especially when there are teachers, hallway monitors, and police officers here to prevent it. Not only does it detract from being able to get a decent education, but it makes our school look cheap and trashy. Even Mrs. Dillard, the assistant principal, had her phone stolen from her desk by a student left momentarily in her office. Mrs. Symons, a teacher at JHS, had her Kindle stolen out of the classroom by a student in her class. This is a bigger problem than most of our students realize. If you want to have nice belongings, get a job and earn them. The ethic in our possessions seems to be entirely lost, either they are given to us by our parents or stolen from fellow students. Maybe the administration could step up the security regimen to protect students and their property.