Several hundred copies of Drexel University's weekly student newspaper were taken from newsstands on Feb. 20.
According to Chris Duffy, editor in chief of The Triangle, copies were taken from Myers Hall, a dormitory located on 3301 Race St. Duffy added that newspapers also may have been taken from other residence halls.
Though the newspaper is distributed free of charge, Duffy estimates that with operational costs, the value of the stolen papers is at least $3,000.
"I was notified on Monday or Tuesday ... by [Drexel] staff," Duffy said. "They came across bins with absolutely no papers."
Duffy has reported the incident to the Philadelphia Police, who have listed it as a case of "missing property."
Approximately 8,000 copies of The Triangle are published every Friday, so the empty stands were regarded as unusual. Duffy reported the incident to the police, then investigated the matter himself.
Duffy found an Internet site that had photos of the missing copies of the newspaper in a student's dormitory room. He said that the photos showed the stack of papers reaching all the way to the ceiling.
"There were pictures of a group of students taking papers through the door," Duffy said. "They'd ripped out the pages, crumpled them up, then put them around the room."
The Web page belongs to Debra Sauer, an undergraduate student at Drexel. She has since removed all of the photographs, but says on the site that neither she nor anyone else she knows took the newspapers. She does not say how the papers came to be in her possession.
Sauer does say on the Web page, however, that she and some others used copies to "newspaper" a student's room. She adds, "I didn't steal them. I don't even know where they came from."
According to Duffy, the people in the photos have not yet been identified. He said that once the perpetrators are found, he will be asking the Drexel Department of Public Safety to seek restitution for the damages incurred as a result of the theft.
Duffy said that while the police may not be regarding the incident seriously, Drexel officials are.
To Duffy, the theft of the papers represents a serious slight to student journalism.
"I'm outraged," he said. "We treat our paper very seriously, our advertisers take it very seriously. It's a complete smack in the face."
The Student Press Law Center claims on its Web site that student media loses thousands of dollars each year due to newspaper theft. They point to at least nine cases of theft in the 2003-2004 school year in which thousands of copies of student newspapers were taken.
The Daily Pennsylvanian has one incident of newspaper theft in its history. On April 15, 1993, nearly 14,000 copies of the paper -- nearly the whole press run -- were stolen. The University did undertake and complete an investigation of nine students, but eventually dropped all charges against them.
