Stealing Items...

SigmaNuPhi4Life · #1 12-10-2004, 04:38 PM

So do you guys, being part of the Greek Community, think it is ok to steal stuff from other Greek houses?

Our sorority house is right across the street from the Phi Sigma Kappa house. Well two nights ago someone decided it would be funny to climb onto their roof and steal their giant wood letters. Don't ask me how they didn't notice...but they didn't. Now they are all pissed off about it. They have asked us over and over again if we saw anything. But we didn't. Now they keep saying that if they figure out who stole the letters from them they are going to kill them. What do you think is too far? Do you think it is right to steal stuff from other Greeks in fun, or should it not be done at all? I am just curious on what everyone thinks.

AlphaSigOU · #2 12-10-2004, 05:05 PM

In days of old this may have been considered a prank or a 'spirit mission', as long as the items in question taken were returned undamaged within a certain time 'window'. In this day and age, it would be considered vandalism and burglary, among other things, if you get caught.

I would NOT condone breaking into a house to capture a rival house's charter, composites or - egad - ritual equipment (yes, it's been known to happen). Unfortunately, things get taken too far.

IowaStatePhiPsi · #3 12-10-2004, 05:18 PM

Kappa Kappa Gamma at Iowa State had their sign in their front yard slowly disappear: the brass greek letters disappeared on each side of the sign at the rate of 1 a week. So the girls had their letters painted on each side.
Right before Thanksgiving break the whole sign disappeared.There's just a frame and base where the sign was.

I find it very disrespectful. It used to be a prank to steal letters, composites, etc- but in the past it was done in a gentler fashion and organizations had their items returned. Now- the sorority has to pay to have a new sign put up as they have no clue where it went or anything.
I have told the girls I know in KKG that when they design a new sign for their yard that I have suggestions so that they wont have similar problems in the future.

KatieKate1244 · #4 12-10-2004, 05:35 PM

It's nothing like having a house sign stolen, but we usually get our recruitment posters and signs stolen.

CaliPhiSig03 · #5 12-10-2004, 06:05 PM

I think it is completely disrespectful to steal, take down, destroy, etc. ANYTHING that belongs to another GLO. We aren't allowed to have houses on my campus, but it is still disheartening to have posters ripped down or other items stolen. I don't know why anyone would condone behavior like that.

RioLambdaAlum · #6 12-10-2004, 06:19 PM

Down in Rio we don't have houses but we do oddly get picnic benches we can decorate to show our organization. Well my Archon boys (AXN) had an awsome and I mean awsome looking table....no offense to my gals but compaired to ours and some of the other greek tables it was awsome. Anyways someone(s) took their table and by the time I graduated in '03 it still never showed up. Granted we only had them for about a year, but they had it when I became an Archon Lil Sis in Fall '02.

KSUViolet06 · #7 12-10-2004, 06:40 PM

In my opinion, it's not okay. We recently had our 2002-2003 composite stolen by a fraternity here. We haven't gotten it back. We've never stolen from them before.

PhiPsiRuss · #8 12-10-2004, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SigmaNuPhi4Life
So do you guys, being part of the Greek Community, think it is ok to steal stuff from other Greek houses?

Stealing is stealing. Its never OK, and its contrary to the values of every single GLO with which I'm familiar.

WVU alpha phi · #9 12-10-2004, 07:21 PM

A few of my sisters who live in the house have gone on little raiding missions to Pi Kapp.. mostly stealing dumb stuff like remote controls to the TV or toilet paper or the 8 ball for the pool table.

When I pledged, we were told that some frat (I don't remember which one), keeps a troll hidden in their house. If a brother brings home an ugly girl, they stick the troll outside his door while he's in there hooking up with her. Supposedly it's like a big deal if you can steal the troll, but as far as I know, no one has managed to yet!

SigmaNuPhi4Life · #10 12-10-2004, 09:27 PM

I know in the past it was real common for girls to take stuff from the boys and boys to take stuff from the girls...but it was always returned. It seems like every time the PSK's get something stolen it is never returned. They had huge letters hanging on their wall going upstairs and the Phi Sig guys from Ferris State came and stole those. The guys from here went and got them back. But still, it has come to the point for them, where their house does not even look like a fraternity house anymore because they have taken everything down. They have no paddles up, they have no pictures up, and they have no plaques up. There is nothing up that shows that they are a fraternity. Of course everyone knows, but it is kind of sad. Their house was awesome the way it looked on the inside.

The Delta Tau Delta's here have pictures of them with random stuff they have taken from the sorority houses around here. They have an Alpha Zi Delta composite, a Delta Zeta turtle with their letters on it, a turtle of ours with our letters on it, a Sigma Kappa sweatshirt, and I think an Alpha Sigma Tau pin. No one trusts any of them to come into our houses anymore. But that is their fault.

I dunno...part of me wants to say it is ok if the shit is returned, but nothing is going to be returned. And the Phi Sigma Kappa's will probably never get their letters back unless they figure out who took it and go and get them back theirselfs. They have it narrowed down to two fraternity's right now, but they are not sure if they are even right. I dunno, this just really sucks for them...they are all very pissed off about it.

Tom Earp · #11 12-10-2004, 09:33 PM

"Stealing is stealing. Its never OK, and its contrary to the values of every single GLO with which I'm familiar."

Russ, thank you for saying this.

While prankism may be in mind with the Risk Management it isnt anymore. Greeks are in the limelight to often so any thing that throws a beam upon us will turn out negative.

valkyrie · #12 12-10-2004, 10:02 PM

Oh goodness. If it's done right and the item is returned unharmed, it's funny. The problem is kids these days are too lazy to do it right. Pranks are fun if you know what you're doing and aren't an idiot.

lenoxxx · #13 12-10-2004, 11:04 PM

Common sense is needed for a less kind world.

Try using 3" wood screws if their is a stud or T-111 you can drive into, or look for screws with drywall hangers if you have drywall. Other alternatives are adhesives, and some framing companies sell "theft proof" wall hangers for pictures to go on.

More theft of these kind of items occurs late night on weekends with alcohol/drugs involved with the offenders. If you have a charter hanging from a wire, where anyone can take it, trust me it will disappear. However if you need a set of tools or a drill, chances are 99% of would be thieves will try to steal it and give up, since now there is an extra level of planning and risk of getting caught involved.

If you are a sorority and dont know how to use tools, call a carpenter from the local yellow pages, it would be worth the time to get your items installed so they can be displayed with a reasonable chance of them not getting stolen. The days when you could trust the local community and students to respect your stuff are long gone.

Take a look at a Campus Old Main or Union style building, go and see if you can even move any "framed" items from the walls, you probably cant, they have it all locked down already, get wise and get it done right.

Lenox
Lambda Chi Alpha Alum

PhoenixAzul · #14 12-11-2004, 12:01 AM

This story was told to us by the alumni this year...
My house has these fairly heavy statues of our mascot in the living room of our house. About 3 or 4 years ago, someway, somehow, a fraternity TOOK one of the LIFESIZED statues out of the living room without anyone noticing for about 2 days. It showed up on our doorstep with it's face painted kinda "KISS" style and the fraternity's letters on the side. What was so weird is that the guys had been invited to the house for some reason (maybe a pre switch day meeting or something of the like) and took it out of a room full of sisters!

But the main thing that gets taken, and that certain people make it a MISSION to take, are pledge books. Most houses have gotten wise and made them look just like regular folders. Of course, carrying your book everywhere makes it vunerable. There are rules to book stealing though. 1) Active members cannot (should not) take books. 2) if it is under/in/covered by anything or anyone, it cannot be taken. It must be blatently neglected in the open. The cafeteria tends to be the spot of many a book steal. 3) if a book is taken, you're under oath to not read it, it's a mutal respect thing. 4) you may steal your book back. 5) You cannot CANNOT steal a book while giving/recieving a signature from a man or a woman. It doesn't happen often. If my book was stolen, I'd be HORRIFIED.To be fair, I'd never try to steal anyone's book, just because I know I'd be upset if that happened to me.

PhoenixAzul · #15 12-11-2004, 12:07 AM

OH! some of the fraternities go and request certain items from sororities (usualy things like letter blocks, or a stuffed mascot or a shirt of some sort). Usually the house is alerted to the arrival of said pledges and have something ready for them. Usually it's given at the price of a song ("we love you xyz oh yes we doooo...") and returned within 24 hours (sometimes the same night).