Recent Scooter Robbery Raises Concern Among Student Body
Photos by Brynne Norton
Article by Lea Olivares Raudes
NEWBERG, Ore. – On the morning of Oct. 14, at George Fox University (GFU) campus, an incident regarding the recent scooter robberies occurred in front of the Gulley and Le Shana dorms.
An allegedly middle-aged man was spotted with bolt cutters attempting to steal the scooters parked in bike racks outside of Le Shana. A group of freshman football players interfered and restrained the man until authorities arrived.
“I was walking back from Klages at 2 a.m., so it would've been 2 a.m. to 3 a.m.,” said Kaylee Jones, a GFU sophomore who witnessed the incident. “I saw [the police] drive away at 3:30 a.m, that's when I went to bed. They were arresting people, doing some pat downs and doing the flashlight thing.”
Jones, on her way back to the dorm, claimed to see the man “in fetal position on the ground and seven officers [around him].” Although there was tension near the dorms, the incident was handled safely with no immediate danger to the space around the scene.
“We all wanted to know what was going on because we couldn't be [there] listening to it,” said Jones. “It was reassuring to know that it took a few minutes for CPS [Campus Public Safety] to show up, then after that the police showed up maybe five minutes later.”
“I did see [the police] take him [the robber] away in handcuffs,” said Jones. “It took them a little bit to cooperate. They did their talking, their report and then they all drove off.”
According to a campus-wide email sent out by CPS on Oct. 13, “about 20 [scooters] have been reported stolen so far, and some were even locked up when taken. Thieves are using tools like bolt cutters to get through regular locks.”
Although there have been multiple reports of missing scooters, this particular incident really caught students’ attention. Newberg is considered one of the safest towns in Oregon, but it is still crucial for GFU, especially as an open campus college, to ensure students’ safety and for students to avoid acting unsafely.
“I feel like having the scooters here is incentive to [steal],” said Jones. “Freshman year, I had this perspective that it's a small campus—it’s open but it's safe, nothing can happen. Seeing all of this makes me think ‘oh, we are an open university. We are basically a public area.’”
Many students are waiting for clarification about whether a threat remains.
“A report or an email sent out or something would have been nice,” said Jones. “Is this the person who's been stealing the scooters? Or is it just one of many? We don't know.”
CPS has done a good job informing students about the robberies but students still feel unease with their lack of knowledge about current events. Emails only achieve so much, so word of mouth is crucial to promote the safety of those near you.
