It was there, now it’s gone.
The food in the refrigerator, gone without a trace. For those who live in the dormitories might have heard about it or maybe even experienced it. But was it just bad luck, or was it just matter of time before it got stolen?
Although food stealing varies from floor to floor, one GMUK floor reported 11 cases of stolen food just this semester. There may be more cases in which the owner of the food does not notice or decides not to report the incident to the residential advisors (“RA”). The IGC housing office has not been idle on this issue. They put warning signs, installed cameras, and have said they will go far as kicking those who stole the food from the dorm if they are caught. Despite these measures, food stealing continues to become an issue for some floors. In fact, most of the RAs agree these incidents, usually ends up being unresolved and continues to happen.
“I do not understand why.” An anonymous student who has had his food stolen multiple times said, “We are university students, we are able to distinguish what is wrong and what is right.”
What could be the potential cause? Many residents point to lack of surveillance cameras. Not all the floors have cameras monitoring the fridge, making it hard to get a clue if there is no witness nearby. Jin Seong Choi (Global Affairs, ’21), a residential advisor for male double-rooms, cried out for the necessity of additional surveillance cameras. Jin Seong stated, “Food robbery is a serious issue every semester and students continue to steal since they are well-aware of the fact that some of the surveillance cameras are fake and so wrongly positioned.” He continued, “The idea of liberalism doesn’t work when members of a certain community are irresponsible for their actions and behaviors. The boundary between liberty and self-indulgence is getting blurred at the moment.”
Yet, there are others who believe that fostering community spirit among floormates would be the solution to the violation of housing rules. Jung Ho Lee (Management, ’20), another GMUK residential advisor mentioned that, “Residents steal others food because they do not know each other. If all of the residents are fully aware of their colleagues they are sharing floors with, such crimes would not happen at all.”
For now, the only thing that RAs can do if food-stealing is reported is to write a message stating not to do it again in the floor group chat. As these measures are limited in how effective they are, more security support and more connections between the residents could potentially solve the issue.
Sungwon Mun | Reporter
smun5@masonlive.gmu.edu
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