Four Hofstra men basketball players were arrested and arraigned last week on second degree burglary charges. The four players Shaquille Stokes 20, Kentrell Washington 18, Jimmy Hall 18, and Dallas Anglin 18, went on a stealing spree for a month from October 4th, until November 5, 2012, in the dorm halls of Hofstra University.
It seems that the four saw Hurricane Sandy as a way to break into the dorms purposefully knowing that students were home with their families.
Apparently, during hurricane Sandy the security swipe system was down. Because of this students placed a chair by the door so that residents could leave and come out of the building with ease. However, the problem with this was that these particular four members of the basketball team, saw this as an opportunity to visit other residence halls and easily maneuver in and out without swiping their identification cards, to see what they can steal from those living within those dorms. This way there would be no proof that they were in the buildings. While interviewing one of the residents who lived in the colonial square, where the first MacBook was reported missing, resident Stacy (name changed for privacy) stated: “in one of the colonial square buildings, some members of the Hofstra Volleyball team decided to cook. They left some of their doors open because they felt a sense of community, everyone was outside relaxing in the lounge and cooking. While cooking, the above basketball players, mentioned walked passed them. The volleyball player around 10:30 pm immediately realized her MacBook laptop was missing and thought it was the basketball players because they were the only ones who did not live in the dorms but visited earlier that evening. She filed a report with campus security along with a police report.” Later on that night other Mac products were missing from the mostly freshman dorm The Netherlands.
The four stole basically a whole Mac store. After investigating, Police said the team members made off with cash, a Sony laptop, headphones, three MacBook pros, an apple iPod, two apple Ipads and an Apple iTouch. And to think that these were the only items found. Who knows if there were more that not reported, that team members could of sold already for money.
The issue that this brings up to students around campus is Why? Why are athletes stealing when they receive everything that they need? They are on an athletic scholarship, receive meal plans, winter jackets, and stipends. If they needed computers, there are two labs on campus that are open to the students for free.
Other issues that have arisen, that cannot be denied are race and class. Why did the four young black males on this division one Hofstra team make such a horrible decision. There really is no excuse. There are many stereotypical issues of young black males who strive to play basketball. Mostly they come from low economic neighborhoods and receive an opportunity to follow their dreams. The NCAA supports these young men and allows them a chance to earn their education working hard at being both a student and an athlete. This gives students-athletes a bad name and tarnishes a reputation that Hofstra students have strived hard to present and protect.
Furthermore, these young men need to do something to give back to their communities. The students they stole from need to be compensated. Moreover, the four men need to go out and volunteer and get more active in community service. Yes, they have been suspended from the Basketball team and from academic classes pending the outcome of the trial. But this is not enough. Since they used Hurricane Sandy as an opportunity to steal, they need to use Hurricane Sandy as a way to give back as well. What better punishment than manual labor? Get out there and help the people of New York who lost everything. Donate the time to those who need to re-build, and renovate their homes. This is a lesson that needs to be severely taught and implemented.
