Chicken parm stromboli: gone. Sushi from The Boathouse: also gone.

Over the past few weeks, a number of meals ordered from local restaurants have been stolen from the food delivery hut. Most victims of theft have either stayed quiet or decided to send all-student emails, sending messages ranging from “Please give it back or if you have eaten it, Venmo me” to “Enjoy my food scumbag.”

In the 2022-2023 Almanac, theft is defined as “taking someone else’s property without explicit permission.” It is a major school rule violation and can result in being called before the Discipline Committee (DC) or Community Conduct Council (CCC). Students have not filed formal complaints regarding the thefts of food nor reported observing them, so no disciplinary action has been taken. Dean of Students Mr. Andrew D’Ambrosio said, “It would be helpful for students to come to the Deans’ Wing, to an advisor, or to another trusted adult to provide further information if they have some. Unfortunately, this is somewhat of a pattern in my time here - where students want action to be taken but at the same time do not share information in their possession. It is not that we expect students to solve problems for us, but we would very much like to partner with students.”

Mr. D’Ambrosio has been meeting with Security to discuss installing a camera in the delivery shed. A student who has taken meals from the hut said, “A camera in the hut will prevent most cases of theft. The reason I took meals was because it would go unpunished.” Callum Rodin ’25 said, “A camera and a reporting system would be a superficial fix to a larger problem; it doesn’t address the lack of integrity.”

While he does not agree that a camera is a superficial fix, Mr. D’Ambrosio agreed that “the culture of disrespect is obviously the underlying issue. Food theft, lack of cleanliness in the Dining Hall, inattention at all-school events, and poor treatment of students by students are all issues that we take very seriously. Unfortunately, simply taking a top-down approach to these matters will not yield the consistent results that we need. The administration needs to hold students accountable and students need to help create a culture of accountability too. All too often I witness situations take place where no peers call a student out on objectionable behavior.”

In a school-wide survey, many students expressed the opinion that thievery could be mitigated by another solution — implementing direct delivery to dorms. At this time, however, there are no plans for the school to return to a non-centralized delivery system.

Students have also pointed out issues with theft in the snack bar. To this, Mr. D’Ambrosio said, “I am aware of the Snack Bar issues and continue to partner with Mr. Webster to find suitable solutions for intervention.”