Heist of roses sours Valentine's Day for CSA

Call it the Valentine's Day Rose Massacre. Shortly before 11 a.m. Friday morning, 75 roses -- destined for special delivery by the Chinese Students Association -- were stolen from High Rise South's 12th floor lounge. "It's really, really disappointing to know someone would do something like that," said CSA President Jennifer Wong. The Wharton junior explained that CSA conducts an annual fundraising campaign in which the organization sells roses in advance on Locust Walk, then wraps and delivers them for free on Valentine's Day. Approximately 20 group members began to work in the lounge at 10 a.m. Friday, cutting, wrapping, decorating and attaching greeting cards to the roses. But soon after beginning work, members left the flowers alone for a few minutes. "We had the roses out in the lounge ? and basically at that point there was so much commotion" that group members did not keep an eye on the flowers, Wong said. She added that the roses were left unattended "not more than five minutes." Wong said the group had to fill orders for approximately 500 roses on Friday and had purchased the 75 flowers from a wholesaler for $150, or $2 apiece. CSA charged $25 for a dozen roses or $3.50 for each individual rose. The group "had quite a few dozens [of roses] to sell," Wong said, adding that the group purchased replacement flowers after the theft. She said she was "appalled" at the theft and could not fathom such an incident happening in the high rises. When told last night about the theft, Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum called the incident "awful" and "tragic" and labeled the individual who stole the roses as a "creep." "How could someone, on a day where people are supposed to love and respect each other, do something so terrible?" she said. McCoullum added that the CSA performs many volunteer and service activities throughout the community and did not deserve to be victimized in such a fashion. "It is particularly unfortunate that an organization that has given so much ended up being the victim that day," she said. Despite the tough luck, Wong said CSA plans to sell roses again next year for Valentine's Day, but added that the group "will be a lot more careful." McCoullum suggested that a University student may have committed the crime. Looking at the broad picture beyond the specifics of the rose theft, she noted that the incident hits home for anyone living in the high rises. "We need to work even harder -- students, faculty and staff together -- at creating a respectful community that values and appreciates everyone in the community," she said.

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