Every year there are announcements made to students reminding them to lock their lockers as there have been recent thefts. The first thought is always, “Who is stealing stuff from gym lockers?” The second and more interesting thought is, “Who isn’t taking 30 seconds to prevent their stuff from being stolen?”

DGN does not have a theft problem; we have a people-not-locking-their-stuff problem. It seems blatantly obvious that 30 seconds of your time is worth your possessions being safely locked away. According to Officer Jon Lyerly, of the 25 locker room thefts reported just this year, most are from unlocked lockers, and the supposedly locked lockers show no signs of forced entry.

A common argument centers around the availability of locks. Luckily, used locks can be purchased in the PE office for $1 or new for $5. To make things even easier, the school records all locker combinations for school-owned locks, in case students ever forget.

There are students who struggle with remembering their locker combinations. However, I doubt there are PE teachers that refuse to help students when they mess up their locks. The extra minute late to their next class is worth their belongings’ safety.

Of course people shouldn’t steal from lockers, nor should people cheat or hurt others. If you had such easy access to something to prevent these things from happening, wouldn’t you utilize it? The problem isn’t theft; it’s not using locks.