Last week, during Steven Pinker’s convocation, there was an unconfirmed report of several purses and personal belongins of student and faculty members disappearing from the back hallway of the Memorial Chapel. There was one confirmed incident. The confirmed theft was a purse belonged to Katharine Enoch, Features Editor and a vocalist in Lawrence’s Concert Chorale. Like other choir members, Enoch left her purse in the back hallway of the Memorial Chapel while the choir performed before the convocation and during Pinker’s presentation.
After the convocation, Enoch could not find her purse and immediately notified the conservatory office and campus security. On the morning after the convocation, Jan. 21, campus security contacted Enoch and told her that a janitor had found the purse discarded in a men’s restroom in the chapel. Nothing was missing from the purse except cash and Enoch’s Lawrence ID.
Enoch believes that a Lawrence student might have taken her purse, and said, “I was wondering whether it might be someone from town who may have been around for the convocation, but the fact that they took my ID seems to imply it may have been a student hoping to use the money off my ID.”
Most Lawrentians trust their fellow students constantly. Bookbags, backpacks, and expensive coats are left unattended at Downer everyday. In the conservatory, students continually trust their classmates, deserting everything from backpacks to instrument cases in hallways during rehearsal, or even leaving priceless instruments in practice rooms. The same general practices apply to labs, not to mention the openness and trust exhibited in most dorms.
Enoch said, “As a student, I never thought that Lawrence would be a place where I would have to worry about theft, but I realize that no matter where I am there will never be any guarantee on the safety of my belongings. I guess I’ll just have to not be so careless and trusting next time…it’s kind of a shame.