by Shaj Mathew

Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar? Two Huntingtown juniors, apparently. The students, accused of stealing cookies from the lunch line, received three days of Out-of-School suspension (OSS) for their theft, though one still maintains his innocence.

“Students are thrill-seeking; they do what they can get away with,” declared Gail O’Dell, Huntingtown’s cafeteria manager and a CCPS employee for 12 years. O’Dell did not reveal how many students had been charged with cafeteria theft this year, but asserted that she has also “given lots of kids second chances.”

One junior charged with theft called the incident “a misunderstanding.” Maintaining that he placed his entire lunch on the counter for the cafeteria lady to ring up, the student said, “I was charged with stealing even though I had no way of knowing I had.” Even after the incident, he felt that the three days of OSS “were not proportional to the crime, especially since [he] was not given the chance to correct the cafeteria’s error.”

However, another student implicated in the theft admitted that he did in fact “put cookies in [his] hoodie pocket.” According to the student, also a junior, a teacher saw him walking away from the lunch line with cookies and asked the cafeteria worker if he paid for them. He did not.

Despite maintaining that it “was an accident,” the latter student said the administration wanted “to set an example” to dissuade other students from stealing food. While the student admitted he “should’ve gotten punished, he asserted the three days of OSS were excessive and “did not teach [him] anything.”

Other students agreed with this student’s sentiments. “If someone honestly forgets, he or she should be able to pay for it,” said sophomore Michael Supanick. “Three days of OSS is a little much— maybe ISS would be fairer.”

However, in defense of cafeteria policy, O’Dell stated, “A kid had $12 worth of food in pockets. Signs are posted because the threat has gotten so bad—no more second chances.” The three days were not arbitrarily decided, said O’Dell; the student Code of Conduct states 3 days of OSS is the appropriate punishment for theft.

That said, O’Dell claimed, “We know there are honest students, but we try to keep inventory. We don’t like to see anyone get in trouble.”

PIN number fraud—one student using another’s PIN number to buy lunch—has also increased during this school year, according to the cafeteria. With only nine cafeteria workers cooking, serving, or working the cash machine at any given moment during a lunch period, O’Dell expressed the need for more staff. “We would like to see a little bit more reinforcement.”

Junior Mike Gilvary recognized this need for more staff as well. “Sometimes cafeteria ladies are so intent on looking for someone stealing cookies that they forget to ring up other stuff.”