An Easy Way to Stop ‘Crimes of Convenience’

Kenyon is generally a welcoming, safe and inclusive community. Most of us feel so comfortable here that, on a day-to-day basis, we leave laptops in the library when we take a coffee break, forget to lock our bikes when we stop by the Market and keep our apartment doors unlocked while we study in our rooms.

Unthinkingly, we make these oversights every day, and usually, nothing comes of it. But sometimes, as in the case of last weekend’s Morgan and Taft Apartment thefts, our forgetfulness can be significant.

Director of Campus Safety Bob Hooper sent out an email this week urging Kenyon students to protect their belongings and lock their doors. According to Hooper, 90 percent of campus thefts are thefts of convenience — they happen during the day in unlocked dorm rooms or apartments. “When the entire student body has access to all the buildings, we need people to lock their doors,” he said. Hooper’s message may seem obvious, but last weekend’s incidents are a cruel reminder that this campus is not immune to petty theft.

Locking your door is free, replacing a $1,200 laptop is $1,200.

Even though it’s incumbent upon every student to secure his or her belongings, it is also the duty of members of this community to be vigilant.  

But in the end, these thefts are not the fault of the victims.

These incidents are the fault of the thief or thieves who take advantage of this community’s sense of trust and safety.

We hope these thefts are not being perpetrated by Kenyon students, but if they are, we say to them: any theft is unacceptable, and your behavior is shameful.

So Kenyon students, lock your doors. And thieves, stay out of our community.