APRIL 19, 2013

THE PIONEER LOG

NEWS
know each other, said ODwyer, basing his conclusion off 20 plus years as a police detective. Other incidents could implicate students. Last Wednesday, a girls quad in upper Alder lost a lamp, camera, iPod and other expensive items to cap a months-long sequence of intimate thefts. Stuff was disappearing here and there, said Julia Meyer (16), one of the residents. This was months ago. Last Wednesday, Alder residents Chandler Johnson (16) and Charlotte Laube (16) returned to their room around 4:30 p.m. Soon, they noticed empty space between their desks. A lamp was gone. Later, Julia Withers (16) came back, searched through her closet and found the items lost earlier. She finds this note, which is quite mean, said Meyer. The belligerent scrawl detailed some of the more

Puzzling campus crimes shatter years of quiet

CALEB DIEHL
OPINION EDITOR

Lewis & Clarks three-year hiatus from a major theft trend ended on April 2, when someone stole a laptop and cellphone from a Manzanita lounge. Director of Campus Safety Tim ODwyer said a second theft happened hours later in the Law School library. In both cases, students only left their computers for a few minutes. Campus Safety recorded seven laptop and desktop computer disappearances this month. Another eerie but probably unrelated burglary in Forest Hall last week accentuated this spike in crime. This is somebody outside the community, said ODwyer of the computer thefts. Theyre hunters. They have to make it a priority to get here. ODwyer said Portland police stopped Matthew Leahey and

two passengers in a neighborhood across the river. Officers arrested Leahey for possession of meth and a stolen laptop but did not touch his acquaintances. The police do not know if Leahey orchestrated the thefts or got the computer from another source. He was released from jail after one day. The case remains open. On April 5 the stakes escalated. In Millers nocturnal, deserted English department, someone heisted a bulky desktop computer from a fourth-floor staff desk. The next day police arrested Leahey, but the crimes didnt stop. Three days later, a student left a Watzek Library study desk for five minutes and lost a laptop. The Law School library lost another laptop on April 10. A number of these are instances in which students got up and left their private property for

periods of time, said ODwyer. Somebodys obviously in the area looking for something to steal. They swoop in, take those items and leave. On April 12, Templeton lost a laptop. And just when Miller settled into a new desktop, the replacement disappeared. All the sudden we have a big theft problem, said ODwyer. That tells me theres some connection between these computer thefts. That days loss in computers was almost made up in suspects. In Templeton, a Skyline employee watched a lanky 25- to 30-year-old man with blond hair sweep the laptop off a table and shove it in his black backpack. ODwyer said the man might work with Leahey. Its pretty clear theres some connection between these guys, but that doesnt necessarily mean they

expensive items. It finished with, Lock your shit up! It was creepy cause we didnt see the note until we looked for the other stuff, said Withers. We didnt realize the other stuff they had takenthose items told us they had been there months before. The next day, Johnson and Meyer found everything stashed in a second-floor trunk room and their common area. Later, Campus Safety interviewed everyone who swiped into the building. They uncovered no unusual entrances. Regardless, both ODwyer and the Alder residents praise the campus communitys integrity and enjoy its usual helpfulness. We still love living in Forest. Were still the best dorm, said Meyer. This is a community issue, said ODwyer. We need everybodys help.

Living in poverty: Could you survive on $2 a day?

KATRINA STAAF
OPINION EDITOR

Can you imagine surviving on a mere $2 per day? This is the reality for more than three billion people worldwide who live at the global poverty line. While the number of those in extreme povertyliving at or below $1.25 a dayis decreasing, two-thirds of the worlds population still lacks access to clean water, sanitation, basic shelter, education or health care. An act of imagination has become tangible for a group of Lewis & Clark students who com-

mitted to a 48-hour challenge of living on $2 a day. Their undertaking, which began on Wednesday evening and ends tonight, has involved the elimination of most luxuries: they cook basic meals of oatmeal or rice and beans over hot charcoal while rejecting electronics, electricity, showers and clothing (other than what they are already wearing). In order to ensure that they would not exceed the $2 daily limit, participants carefully calculated the costs of fuel and water needed to prepare food. One exception to their attempt at a total poverty experience

is the utilization of shelter, which they have found on the floor of the Co-op. Participants in the $2-a-day campaign are part of LC Effect, a new social justice organization dedicated to raising microloans for women in rural Guatemala and generating awareness of world development issues in the process. By simulating conditions of poverty, the group hopes to make the LC community more aware of global realities and also to experientially educate themselves. Co-President Kaiya Gordon (16) deems it crucial that LC EfADVERTISEMENT

fect members have this experience in order to feel truly passionate about the organizations mission. She remarked that food is more empowering than we tend to realize. If you cannot feed yourself, you cannot extend yourself physically or mentally. Without access to the Bons all-you-can-eat buffet, participants are not just sacrificing variety: they are learning that completion of daily tasks becomes more difficult than usual when they cannot eat as much as they might like. Since Wednesday, participants have been working hard at teach-

ins (giving detailed descriptions of educational posters to interested passerby) in the Howard academic building. The campaign was also complemented by a lecture event featuring History Department Chair and Director of Ethnic Studies Elliot Young. LC Effect hopes to establish $2-aday as a yearly event that will help generate a campus-wide dialogue of justice and social change. And while they will not be spending any more nights on the floor of the Co-op this semester, it is not too late to stop by and get informed.