The girl’s locker room, a place for changing, showering, and theft. Sort of. According to multiple students, two of whom were willing to go on the record, several hundred dollars have been stolen from backpacks left in the locker room during PE. Walking through the school, hearing complaints of thieves has become all too common. Among these victims is junior Emma Livingston. She was among the victims with an alleged $30 stolen. 

“I thought we built up a kind of trust,” Livingston said of the girl’s locker room. “I didn’t expect anything to be taken from me.” 

With upwards of $260 allegedly stolen, one would assume that the administration is feverishly searching for the thief. At least, that is what junior Delaney Boland was led to believe.

“I had $50 or so [stolen],” Boland, who did not file a report, said.

She added that she assumed other people were reporting losses.

“It’s happening to everybody,” Boland said, “so I’m sure they’re [administration] overwhelmed with reports.”

“I haven’t had any students come specifically report anything about the locker room,” Assistant Principal Michael Shanley said. 

Shanley said he believes nobody has filed a report because the school does not have a monitoring system.

 “We don’t have security cameras, we don’t have hall monitors, we don’t have a good way of catching them,” Shanley said.

When asked why she didn’t file a report, Livingston said: 

“Because I knew I would get in trouble for not locking up my backpack. I knew they would try to twist the blame on me.”

So how can you protect yourself and your money? 

“The more information we have, the more likely we are able to figure out what’s going on or at least put in more precautionary measures,” Shanley said. “I have recovered money before, and that was because somebody reported to us, and we knew when and how it happened. It’s a possibility. It’s hard though.” 

The PE department declined to be interviewed for this story.

The simplest and easiest way you can ensure your money stays with you is to put your backpack in a locker and lock it. Or, as the handwritten note placed on the girl’s locker room states:

“Lock up your stuff.”