ARKANSAS — Morethan 1,000 copies of The Forumstudent newspaper were stolen March 13 and 14 from the University of Arkansasat Little Rock.
Executive Editor Jennifer Ellis said she saw newspapers in astand when she got to work, but not when she left on March 13.
“The rack was completely empty, which is odd because those300 papers usually last a week,” Ellis said.
That evening, Ellis filed a police report with UALR’sDepartment of Public Safety regarding more than 200 stolen papers, which shefound neatly stacked in a nearby trash can.
“The next day I came back and looked at other newsstands andevery stand was empty,” Ellis said. “Between those two days at least 1,000newspapers were taken.”
Ellis called the public safety department again March 14 toreport the additional thefts.
The Forumpublishes every two weeks with a circulation of 2,500. After Ellis discoveredthe papers missing, she placed 50 additional newspapers in each of the emptybins. When she walked back later in the day, the papers were gone again, Ellissaid.
A spokeswoman for the university, Angela Parker, said theDepartment of Public Safety is investigating but there are no suspects.
A front-page story in the paper focused on the oldest Greekfraternity at UALR’s campus. The fraternity, Kappa Sigma, reported more than$3,000 stolen from its bank account, according to The Forum. One week later, the university received a hazingcomplaint about the same fraternity.
Benjamin Williams, student representative for the UALRchapter of Kappa Sigma, declined to comment on the newspaper thefts.
Ellis said that story was the only controversial topic inthe newspaper.
“I’m not accusing anyone of anything, but I suspect that’sthe reason [the papers were stolen],” Ellis said. “We find this whole situationvery odd. Normally our campus is quiet and this isn’t anything we expected fromour campus… It’s really disrespectful.”
Ellis has not received news concerning the investigation butsaid she hopes the culprits are caught soon, or at least understand the impactof their actions. Ellis said each paper costs $1.25 to produce.