Bri Shekels

Student Life Editor

Theft has never been a problem at Orono High School. Students can trust their peers to leave their backpacks alone during FLEX activities and teachers don’t mind leaving their classrooms unlocked while they run to the copy machine during a break. But recently, the theft rate at Orono has risen.

Most students are comfortable leaving their backpacks someplace in the school while they wander off for a few minutes. If the time they are away from their possessions increases, they become more worried. “I only worry about it if it is going to be left out for a long period of time. I went on a choir field trip and we had to leave our backpacks there for like five hours but we put them in the choir room instead,” said junior Jennifer Gardner.

One of the victims of a theft was Spanish teacher Mrs. Wooley whose cell phone was stolen out of her purse. “I can’t believe someone would do that to a nice person. Or that Orono people would do that. It’s weird to think our purses and backpacks aren’t safe.” said senior Lauren Patterson.

In schools across the nation, students are not the only ones taking belongings that are not theirs. Staff at schools are stealing as well. Mnsun.com said one of the staff memebers at Edina Public Schools “took $11,381 from Community Education for personal use.”

Photo/Online

Is there a thief in Orono?