“My Mizza’s delivery order is missing from the Security tent. If anyone took it, please give it back.” Sounds familiar?

        These all-school emails have become a common occurrence. Throughout the year, many community members have ordered food from nearby restaurants, only to have it stolen or accidentally taken by someone else.

        Currently, every food order delivered to the school is stored in a tent right next to the Security Office, and students are expected to pick it up themselves. Even though this is a convenient way to handle deliveries, any student – either out of malice or by accident – would be able to take someone else’s food. The Security Department should take steps to prevent this from happening.

         There are many ways to approach this problem. For one, simply placing a security camera at the delivery tent would be a substantial deterrent to those who might intentionally steal food. A more secure solution, albeit difficult to implement, would be to have designated lockers for each student at Hotchkiss that could be opened by your dorm key. This would take more time and effort, but it would help ease any qualms students may have about their food getting stolen.

         Now, of course, I understand the difficulties of implementing a solution for this dilemma. Along with the obvious costs of buying the equipment necessary to make this change, the school would have to cooperate with neighboring restaurants so that people delivering the food could adapt to this change, as well. However, this is a worthy and beneficial investment for not just students, but all community members.

         Food deliveries are a privilege, not a right. This aspect of campus life should not be ruined by a lackluster delivery system. I am urging the Security Department to carry out a much-needed improvement to the way of the way they handle campus deliveries.

          I have faith that most of our student body would never think of stealing food, and that many of these incidents are accidental. However, it is our duty as students to lift each other up and stick to our values, whether that means staying away from other people’s food or simply returning it when you realize it isn’t yours. My main message is that we need to create a more secure food delivery system, but the deeper underlying message is that we, as Hotchkiss students, should always interact with integrity and kindness towards each other.