Even though the Union Programming Council has hosted three jam-packed Crimson Nights this year, it is having a hard time celebrating its success.
Two large Crimson Nights posters worth $150, as well as the “Hollywood” signs on the Union’s Free Speech Area, are missing and are presumed stolen, said Julie Train, UPC director.
Ben Holdaway, who served as the UPC marketing director last year, said four posters worth more than $600 were also stolen during Crimson Nights last year.
“I designed the banners to advertise Crimson Nights, but one by one, each of them ended up missing,” Holdaway said.
Tran said she assumes the posters last year were stolen because they were tied with rope, which can easily be untied and taken down.
This year, UPC began using twisty ties because “not many people carry scissors or blades around with them,” she said.
This year the posters, which are usually placed in the Union, the Heritage Center and in stationary poster poles around campus, still managed to disappear.
Tran said she thinks students in need of room decorations took the posters.
“I think students did it for kicks because they look really good hung up on their walls,” she said. “But what people need to realize is that even though stealing may seem fun at the time, their actions do have consequences.”
As a result of the posters’ disappearance, UPC was forced to cut funds needed for additional marketing materials, Tran said.
“We have a very limited budget and planned on reusing the banners for future events during the year,” she said. “But, because we don’t budget for lost or stolen objects, we end up just being short on marketing materials, and our participation at the events suffer since we aren’t able to cover more areas on campus.”
Holdaway said that missing banners don’t just hurt funds; they also hurt the students who spent time working to make them.
“Putting Crimson Nights together is an amazingly hard task, and it costs a lot of extra money and time that could be spent on creating more advertising for the future,” Holdaway said.
Officer Jordan Winegar, with campus police, said students found with stolen property can be charged with theft and a Class B misdemeanor.
Students with information about the missing posters or who witness other campus property being stolen are encouraged to contact Campus Security at 585-2677 or UPC at 581-7658.