The administration’s locker policy has proven successful in protecting students’ belongings as it approaches the end of its first term in effect.
Only three locker-related thefts have been reported this year, all of which occurred because students voluntarily chose to share lockers, according to Principal Stanley Teitel.
The administration advises against unofficially sharing lockers, though because of an insufficient number of lockers, some students are assigned two to a locker. Earlier last month, Teitel made an announcement warning students against sharing lockers.
“In each case, when we brought down the student, we learned that the student had chosen to share the locker with another student, or more. Well, I can’t control everything,” Teitel said. He declined to provide the names of the students.
“I don’t know where to go with this theft. [...] I can’t be so sure who knew the combination. When I gave you the combinations to your locker, you were the only one to have them. And I can assure you, no one has gotten their hands on the books with all the combinations,” Teitel said.
The new locker policy, proposed at the end of last year, forced students to pay 11 dollars for heavy-duty four-combination locks provided by the school and already attached to a locker. By placing locks on every locker, the administration prevented students from taking lockers to which they were not originally assigned.
Despite objections from the Student Union and many students, the policy took effect in September 2007.
Sophomore Ravinder Kaler said, “It was inconvenient because it forced us to buy 11 dollars when there are much cheaper locks, and it also made [many] freshmen sharelockers.”
“It didn’t make enough of an impact to go through it for another year,” said SU President Jamila Ma, noting that all the locks must be taken down at the end of the year and replaced for the fall term.
“Mr. Teitel’s job is to keep the students safe,” dean Philip Fisher said. “Imagine if right before finals, all your notes were stolen.”
“It’s for your safety, so you can put your jackets, your iPods, your cell phones, which you’re not supposed to have, safely away,” Fisher said.
“Some [students] were buying what I call designer locks. They looked pretty, but provided you with no protection,” Teitel said. “I saw one of them in which somebody took off their shoe, hit the lock twice with the bottom of their shoe, and the lock popped open. Well, what would you like me to do next?”
“You can get off the internet how to open those locks,” dean Robert Rosen said. “Nobody is breaking into the [school-issued] locks.”
Prior to the policy’s implementation, North Face winter jackets were popular targets for thieves. According to Teitel, over the course of a single week in December 2006, six North Face jackets were stolen from lockers.
There have been no jacket thefts so far this school year.
Teitel said although he has not made a final decision, he will probably continue the new locker policy next year.
“Things are going very well. Unless something happens that I don’t foresee, the answer probably will be yes,” he said.
He may, however, decide to forbid students from sharing lockers to which they have not both been assigned.
Despite the recent thefts, many students said they would continue to share lockers because of accessibility.
Sophomore Kai Sam Ng shares his friend’s locker. “[My assigned locker’s] on the eighth floor. It’s really inconvenient because I have no classes there,” he said.
“[You have to] trust your friends,” Ng said. “I put valuables such as my laptop in [my friend’s locker], and nothing yet has been stolen.”
As the temperature drops, North Face jackets may continue to act as a test for the policy. “These jackets are 150 dollars plus for each jacket. That’s a lot of money,” Teitel said. “Mom and dad would […] be much happier paying me 11 dollars knowing their jacket is secure.”
