At the senior Legacy Dinner on Jan. 13, the Legacy Board invited students to wine and dine with College President Larry Arnn. Unfortunately, the beauty of the night was diminished by a handful of seniors who stole the dining table centerpieces.
The tables were decorated with succulents which the event coordinators had borrowed from a local church. According to multiple students in attendance, they were unaware that the college had borrowed the centerpieces.
“It felt like we were being gaslighted,” said Anna Katherine Daley, senior class secretary. “None of us knew they belonged to the church.”
When the legacy board noticed the plants were missing, the alumni office emailed the senior class with haste. The local church needed the succulents back for church services, so students were told to return their contraband cacti within five hours of receiving the email.
Some students who took a succulent didn’t consider the implications of the act.
“You know how when you’re at a wedding, and there are centerpieces and usually people say ‘take them home we’re not gonna do anything else with them’?” Daley said. “That is how I viewed the succulent situation. And obviously, what did we think that the senior class legacy board was going to do with 25 succulents? Nothing. So we thought, ‘let’s just all take one.’”
Other students were fueled by more selfish reasons.
“I wanted it and it was there,” senior Natalie Walters said. “I felt a strong desire to feel something that could only be fulfilled by the succulent.”
According to Director of Student Activities Ashlyn Landherr ’16, this isn’t the first time students have “borrowed” things.
“I’ve definitely seen students take centerpieces before at a handful of events,” Landherr said.
Although friendly theft is not uncommon at school sanctioned events, Landherr said she didn’t note any malicious intent at the legacy dinner.
“There are times when students know they shouldn’t be taking things from events and there are times where people think they can take things from an event because they’re done being used,” Landherr said. “But it depends on the intent of the person in the situation.”
The alumni office emailed seniors the following morning, asking for the succulents back and appealing to the honor code.
“If the succulents are not returned, you have essentially created a situation where you, as a Hillsdale College student who has signed our Honor Code, have taken advantage of the kindness and trust of a church,” the email read.
Although students didn’t know the succulents belonged to a church, many were quick to pay reparations. Both Daley and Walters promptly returned their respective plant babies.
Regardless, students were left confused, hoping that future events would specify which items were for the taking.
The alumni office declined an offer to comment on the matter.
