Crime, Vanderbilt, and Quilt’s: the Devil’s Ménage à Trois
Crime Alerts. They are an unpleasant fact of life at Vanderbilt and a chilling reminder that the “Vanderbubble” isn’t some anti-reality force field, but an expression of how scared we are of life outside of Vanderbilt’s shady acres. And who can blame us? “Crime Alerts” let us know that there is depravity, poverty, and even, GASP!, crime in the real world. Admittedly, while most of the “Alerts” consist of stories ranging from “such-and-such drunk girl thinks the earth groped her when she slipped on her own vomit and hit the ground” to “high dude in Mayfield thinks he maybe saw a shadowy figure doing something maybe”, there is the occasional actual crime. One such crime happed to Brian Lesniak, (’12).
I had the chance to interview Mr. Lesniak, in hopes that not only would his crime be solved, but also that I could help prevent further crimes of a similar nature.
Me: Thanks for meeting me in this secret location, Mr. Lesniak.
Mr. Lesniak: This is one of the booths in the Pub. And why are you calling me “Mr. Lesniak”? We’ve known each other for over a year now.
Mr. Lesniak, went on to tell me, in vivid and gruesome detail how his 10 year-old quilt was stolen from the laundry room in Vandy-Barnard. Through his tears he told me that it “didn’t really bother him that much” and “he doubted it would end up in a ‘Crime Alert’”.
While Mr. Lesniak was right in that his crime never ended up gracing our email inbox’s, I still felt compelled to get to the bottom of the mystery. To aid me in my task I ended up going to the fairest, best equipped and most competent organization on campus; VUPD. Side note: some British guy recently invented a quotation mark for sarcasm; I’m still trying to find it though…
The VUPD gets a bad reputation around Vanderbilt. So what if the same cop that watches you shotgun twelve beers pulls you over the next day for a “dimming taillight”? They do it to because they care about justice and our well-being. So when I went to the VUPD to report this heinous crime, I was somewhat surprised when the told me to “go grow a dick so I could fuck myself” because I was “wasting their time with stupid bitch stuff”.
Shaken and disheartened, I prepared to head back to my dorm. However, on my way there, I saw Mr. Lesniak, holding what appeared to be a large dryer sheet.
“Hey, my quilt was in the lost and found the whole time you don’t have to write that story anymore”.
With this latest crime solved, I think all of Vanderbilt can rest a little easier. I know I will, especially with the knowledge I’m being protected by VUPD, an inordinate number of video cameras, and of course “Crime Alerts”. Now, I’m off to go help a girl find the self-esteem she lost during spring rush!
