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Inkwell Investigative

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An image of astonishment and confusion could describe the scene at Boys’ Latin. Our campus had been infiltrated and plundered under our very noses. Rumors spread quickly and funny stories were made to explain how and why this mystery man got away with what he did. But what really happened?  From my investigation, I have come up with the following: About three weeks ago, a man, in his mid-twenties, came to Boys’ Latin and claimed to be a Hofstra football coach. He walked around the athletic facilities and talked with players and faculty. He talked to our key college prospects for football and was even given a tour by a student. “He just seemed like a nice guy, “ one student said of the man that day. After making his presence as a “recruiting coach” known, he seemed to wander aimlessly around the lower campus. He was last seen talking on a cell phone before getting in his car and leaving campus.< xml="true" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" prefix="o" namespace="">

     Unfortunately for us, his departure meant that he had succeeded in his campus raid. And what exactly did he manage to accomplish? As cameras show, this “coach” entered the Varsity Soccer and football locker rooms unsupervised and left several minutes later with his bag a little fuller. The items reported missing include cash, ATM cards, and cell phones belonging to students. It wasn’t until the soccer practice was finished that people realized that someone had robbed the soccer team’s locker room. Even then people didn’t realize that the “recruiter” had stolen the items. According to Coach Schell, he had no idea who was the culprit. “It took my first period class the next day to make me realize that that guy wasn’t really who he said he was. Looking back on it now, none of it made sense,” Schell proclaims.

     But this Ocean’s Eleven wannabe was far from perfect. In the time the man spent on campus, he managed to make some key errors when talking to people that day. First, he didn’t know the name of the head coach at Hofstra. Wouldn’t a recruiter know his boss’s name like he knows his own mother? Second, he didn’t know Chris “Kat” Katerianakis. That might not seem like a big deal, other than the fact that “Kat” had been contacted by Hostra earlier in the year as a football prospect. “He just seemed so nervous, something just didn’t feel right,” said Connor Frank, whose ATM card was stolen. These and many other reasons should have set off red flags in people’s minds.

     If the man didn’t seem right for all of those reasons, then how did he possibly manage to pull off this heist? I believe, luckily for him, he had a few good things going for him. For one, Mr. Thomas, the Boys’ Latin Athletic Director, was not on campus at the time. If Mr. Thomas had been there, things might have turned out much differently. Mr. Thomas most likely would have asked this character to verify his position at Hofstra. Secondly, it was a defensive training day for the football team. If you don’t know what that means, just go down and watch Coach Schell during one – it’s pretty intense. “If I hadn’t been so busy, I would have gotten him,” said Coach Schell. Obviously, the hectic nature of that day took people’s focus off of the campus visitor and to the practice. The final advantage I feel he had was that he was dealing with Boys’ Latin. This is a factor because only at our trusting school could a man walk around saying he is someone important and not have to verify once that he was truly who he said he was.

     Now, knowing a person just walked in and took advantage of us, how are we going to prevent a similar incident? Well, for starters, the students could put locks on their lockers. Second, coaches could lock locker rooms before the practice starts. Yet this causes problems for those kids who arrive at practice late because of academic issues. Also, people could be asked to verify their identity with ID cards when entering the gym and upper school. This system is already in place at other nearby private schools. But in my opinion, such a system would be too much of a hassle. When all is said and done, it is the responsibility of the owner to make sure his property is not stolen. There is no realistic way to fully control who comes to watch the events every day—unless of course we put Mr. Smith on full-time campus patrol.

     Speaking of the Dean, Mr. Smith finally relieved the student body of their worry last Thursday with an announcement over the intercom that the intruder had been arrested and is now sitting in prison on $40,000 bail. I don’t think all the stuff he stole could even cover this one. In closing, basically three weeks ago we were cheap shot from behind and it hurts. We need to pick ourselves up, laugh a little, and learn from our mistakes. 

From the Dean's Office 

September

Discipline Stats:

           Total: 54 referrals, 8 detentions

     Seniors:  9 referrals, 0 detentions

       Juniors: 14 referrals, 3 detentions

Sophmores: 24 referrals, 5 detentions

Freshmen: 7 referrals, 0 detentions

Message from Mr. Smith:

This school year has been very good so far in terms of student disciplinary problems. As you can see by the statistics, the 10th graders are living up to the term "sophomoric;" if you don't know what that means, I advise you to look it up. The spike in 10th grade referrals and detentions is not an anomaly; I see roughly the same numbers each year. I congratulate the freshmen and the seniors on a 0 detention record. It would be nice if both classes could keep it that way, but that is probably unrealistic.