All new Hillsdale students sign the Honor Code in an effort to create a campus free of crimes that plague other college campuses.
Recent thefts, however, indicate that students should be more cautious. The Suites and the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house in particular, have seen an increase in burglary.
Director of Campus Security Bill Whorley said a lower rate of theft occurs at Hillsdale than at most other colleges.
“Stealing at Hillsdale is a crime of opportunity, though,” he said. “Students feel comfortable on campus and just leave things around.”
He also acknowledged that, oftentimes, students do not report a theft.
“If students were willing to report it, we would try to resolve it,” he said.
Suites Director Soren Geiger ’13 gets a report of stolen items approximately every two weeks. During Christmas break, a bike was stolen and, this semester, a wallet, a FedEx package, and a pair of snowboots have gone missing from throughout the building.
“There has always been some theft as it is very easy to get away with and valuables are often left out in the open,” he said.
Since the Delts have lived in their new house, theft has been a recurring problem. For the eight months that the Delts have lived on Fayette Street, $1,000 worth of property has been stolen from their house. Most of the items stolen have been ritual materials, but banners, Christmas decorations, and even food has been stolen.
“You tend to think you can trust Hillsdale kids,” said senior Derek Fields, former president of the fraternity.
Fields acknowledges that a prank culture exists within Hillsdale’s Greek system.
“There is a big difference, though, between taking something valuable and not giving it back and sorority pranks,” he said.
Much of the theft resulted from problems with securing the Delt’s new house at the beginning of last semester. At first, maintenance gave the fraternity keys that did not open the house doors. Then, maintenance did not put locks on all the doors. The front door of the house had a deadbolt that could only be locked from the inside. Now, the Delts have functional locks and keys to all their doors.
The Delts have not recovered any of their property. Fields encourages any students who have Delt items to return them.
“We’re not the kind of guys who would retaliate and vandalize your stuff,” Fields said. “We are above being stupid and petty. It’s sad that people know that and take advantage of it.” Sophomore Shaun Lichti had a pair of snow boots stolen from the cubbies outside of Saga. He wears his boots while walking to class and meals, and then changes into dress shoes. “Currently, I walk around campus trying to balance my time between not falling on my butt and staring at everyone’s feet, ready to pounce if I spot my poor boots,” he said.
During the first rainstorm of the semester, also near Saga, sophomore Jack Shannon had his umbrella stolen.
“Who steals an umbrella from Saga at breakfast?” he said.
Sophomore Caroline Pittard had a flat of water bottles stolen from her in the Suites parking lot.
“I left them in the parking lot when I was moving into the Suites and poof! They were gone when I got back,” Pittard said.
Whorley encourages students to exhaust all possibilities before assuming their items were stolen. Students can visit the security office for help in finding their property. He also advises students to be more protective with their items.
“If people are a little more careful, with a little patience, we can remove the opportunity for crime to occur,” he said.
