NEW HAMPSHIRE — University of New Hampshire officials areinvestigating the theft of more than 4,000 copies of the student newspaper lastweek.
Three men were seen on camera throwing out copies of The NewHampshire shortly after it was distributed Sept. 29. A New Hampshirearticle about the theft theorized the action was a response to a pair ofarticles about unrecognized fraternities on campus.
New Hampshire Executive Editor Cameron Kittle estimated the threemen, and others who could have been involved, stole 4,250 copies of the paper,resulting in a total loss of $3,432, including a $2,265 loss in adrevenue.
Dean of Students Anne Lawing said university police are working to identifythe students on the tape, after which decisions about punishment will bemade.
“We’re taking this extremely seriously,” she said. “We understand thatadvertisers rely on print newspapers to get the word out, and they pay goodmoney for it.”
Kittle said the newspaper staff plans to rerun some of the advertisementsfrom the stolen paper for free.
Lawing said she appreciated that some people were disappointed not to beable to get a print copy of The New Hampshire, but that the theft had notstopped students from reading.
“Given that so much is online, nobody can stop the news from getting out,”she said.
Articles about the two fraternities and the newspaper theft were among themost commented on the newspaper’s Web site last week.