Not long ago, campus pranks were usually written off as, you know, campus pranks. But times have changed. I heard about the arrest of 4 or 5 students by state police. The crime apparently was committed on campus. I don’t know how extensive the investigation was or how many officers were assigned to scope out the perpetrators. No car chases were involved. No shots fired. Apparently the suspects were identified and arrested without incident. Court dates (in the town’s court as opposed to a hearing in the student honor board) were set.
The crime?
Stealing cheese sticks from the school cafeteria.
No I am not condoning stealing. The fact that my generation was able to “raid the kitchen” and haul off upwards of a pint of ice cream without risking an arrest record, does not excuse the fact that these students were stealing. The point of this thread is to warn students and suggest that parents discuss with their students the current restrictive or “law abiding” climate on some college campuses. Minor infractions can lead to long term consequences in a way that is different from in the past where colleges had a higher tolerance for childhood/minor pranks. Whereas campus security at some schools used to be privately hired employees of the school, today’s university police, especially at public/state universities are full fledged state police.
Have you heard of similar arrests for conduct that would not have garnered such attention in the past? Have you seen egregious conduct that is ignored but would have resulted in an arrest in the past? What is your experience with university police?