Community Responds to Grill Thefts
In response to a surge of thefts, Grill has indefinitely taken off the shelves two of their most-stolen items, Hi-Chews and Dove Milk Chocolate bars.
While Grill Manager Scott Jeffco said that candies and chocolates are the most coveted items, Dean of Students Melissa Mischke stated that there were also “specific and expensive items stolen in large quantities,” in an email sent to faculty advisers on Tuesday.
“This is so disappointing and not how we should identify as a community,” [Dean Mischke] wrote. “[The cost has] a significant burden on the Grill manager and his team.”
Yet although Grill took measures to discourage students from stealing, these incidents have continued, as Mischke wrote in her email. “This is so disappointing and not how we should identify as a community,” she wrote. “[The cost has] a significant burden on the Grill manager and his team.”
According to Wolff, the administration is considering harsher measures to combat this problem, which include having students leave backpacks outside, install surveillance cameras and erect barriers. “Closing Grill is one of many options we would hope not to have to choose,” she said. “I have heard that students may feel it is ‘safer’ to steal from Grill than from a local business. Students should know that we’ve had discipline cases for Grill theft in the past.”
“But I’d like to think our community is better than that,” Wolff continued. “No matter what, the behavior can’t continue—it is too corrosive and reprehensible.
Louie*, a student claiming to have stolen “a few hundred dollars” worth of items, said that the high prices and long lines encouraged him to steal. “I stole because the items are crazy expensive,” he said. Before he began stealing, Louie had spent well over $1000 at Grill.
Although senior Ava Harrington has not stolen from Grill, she agreed that Grill’s prices were exorbitant. “If they didn’t jack up the prices, I could afford stuff,” she said.
Meanwhile, Hughes* believes that a culture of stealing in his friend group has encouraged his participation in theft—he estimates that 1 in 3 people he knows has stolen or steals regularly from Grill. “It’s almost like a challenge of who can steal the most from Grill,” he said. Despite his guilt, the normalization and competitive attitude towards stealing has “diminished the consequences in [his] mind.”
Repeat offenses can also dampen feelings of remorse. Louie said, “The first time I stole, I felt so bad that I wanted to return it. [...] But after the first time, I did it again, and it got easier.”
Another apparent factor driving the stealing trend is the lack of security surveillance. Upper Ramyanee Mukherjee noted how the register is often unattended in an area without cameras. While she has not stolen from Grill herself, Mukherjee noted that there are several times during the day “when the workers are in the kitchen, and no one will be monitoring the shelves.” This means someone could easily walk in, take something, and leave.
Teachers and students alike believe that this issue runs counter to core school values. History Instructor Meg Foley maintained that Grill’s high prices cannot justify stealing. “You don’t just decide to take it because it is expensive. There is a major corrosion of morals if they justify stealing in any way. How is it any different from stealing cash from the register?” she said.
Dean of Academic Affairs Brooks Moriarity agreed with Foley, describing stealing as “a discouragingly sibi thing to do.”
Senior Emeline Scales wishes students would consider how their actions affect others, rather than the immediate gratification of stealing. “It makes sense to be annoyed at the prices, but it’s not going to change anything if you steal, and it doesn’t hurt the school as much as it hurts the people working there,” Scales said.
Lower JaQ Lai does not believe that the signs will be enough to stop people from stealing. “I think a preventative approach, like putting snacks that are more prone to theft next to the cashier, will be more effective than punishments like taking snacks away,” Lai said.
Grill Worker Winston* believes that students who steal should undergo more serious consequences. “If it were me, I would take it to the extreme and contact the police or maybe give them a pink slip the first time then kick them out the second time,” he said.
*Asterisks denote name change to protect anonymity