Clothes, cell phones, money and an iPod were stolen from three different lockers during the Mods 6-7 P.E. class. No suspects have been caught. “We have a few leads,” Athletic director and P.E. teacher Robert Ray said. “We’re hoping the students will help us with this.”

    According to dean Ray Cordoba, the thief may have gone around the locker room testing locks. Cordoba said that it is likely that the theft victims failed to lock their lockers properly. “Students are being forgetful about checking to see if they really closed (their lockers),” Cordoba said. He would not release the names of the three theft victims.

    Ray agreed that most locker thefts are the result of carelessness. “At this point we think it’s more of an issue of kids leaving their locks unlocked than lockers getting busted open,” he said.  “Ninety percent of the victims leave their locks unlocked. If you leave a wallet or purse out, you’re inviting people to steal. You have to police your own environment.”

    P.E. teachers patrol both girls’ and boys’ locker rooms while they are not teaching, according to Ray. Several P.E. teachers report having to lock students’ unattended lockers for them or even safeguard unlocked backpacks they find in the office.

    Because of this, the P.E. department is also considering being stricter about locking the doors of the locker rooms, which after-school sports often neglect to do. “The sign on the door says the locker room is closed at 3:45, but it never is because of sports,” freshman Will Scharffenberger said.

    Some students, however, agree with the teachers that the responsibility lies primarily with the students. “I don’t think anything can be improved,” freshman Phillip Raucci said. “I just think people need to be more careful.”

    Students report about six or seven locker thefts per year, according to Ray.

    As Lowell has one of the highest theft rates of the district, Cordoba advises students to be vigilant. “We still have thieves at this school,” Cordoba said. “Be aware. Be careful.”