This is why we can’t have nice things.

Approximately 160 of the 200 wire baskets Sodexo purchased for the Quad Creek Café at the beginning of the academic year have gone missing. The baskets, meant to create a fine dining atmosphere, are not cheap to replace.

“Those were pretty expensive,” Sodexo General Manager Dannie Crozier said. “We wanted to make it look and feel more upscale than a normal dining hall at a university.”

With the theft of such a great number of baskets in such a short amount of time, replacing the baskets won’t be feasible. Sodexo did not believe the theft would happen.

In looking at many new pieces for the dining halls, Crozier and others scrutinize if objects will be stolen and what they will be used for.

“We have to always make a conscious decision whether or not the students will steal items and what they will use them for,” Crozier said.

Many wonder what these wire baskets could be used for outside of a dining hall.

“What are people really stealing these wire baskets for?” Junior Jessica Anderson wondered. “Seriously what is it good for? I’m curious.”

Rumors are flying as to where the baskets could have gone.

One rumor claims that a floor in Crawford Residence Hall is having a competition to see who can steal the most.

“It’s a fruit bowl now,” one student said.

“They’re just sitting on our floor,” another student admitted. “We’ll probably bring them back.”

The resident assistants and others are instructed to be on the lookout for stolen goods.

“People have their eyes open,” Crozier said. “There are consequences for these actions.”

Students also say, “Well, they are new, and that’s exciting. You want a piece of it.”

Junior Andi Summers is confused about the allure of the wire baskets.

“I just don’t get it,” she said. “Sure they’re shiny, but they’re meant for the dining halls.”

Sophomore Drew Albinson maintains that the wire baskets might not even be stolen.

“I bet people are throwing them out,” he said. “That’s got to be it.”

The mystery is nothing new for Sodexo.

“Every year, theft occurs and it’s unfortunate that we just got in all this new stuff and more than half of it is missing.

“It’s just a little disheartening to me, especially with the type of great students we have at Drake University,” Crozier said. “We know that we have great students here and they’re standup individuals who will be leaders in the future, but this isn’t the way to lead. It’s theft, it isn’t a game.”

With just one-fifth of the fine dining baskets remaining, it isn’t certain if they will be replaced.

“There’s no fee out there for stolen goods, it’s a total rumor, but when this happens it accelerates costs,” Crozier said. “We can’t absorb all of it.”

If anyone knows where a wire basket or two went, they are encouraged to return it to its home in the Quad Creek Café to help keep costs down and quality up.

Photo: Connor McCourtney