"I was walking home one night from Rugby Road, and I saw it," said a first-year College student who requested anonymity. "I took it because I thought it was pretty, and then I decorated it for Mardi Gras. It's still in our suite today, and we laugh about it when we think about how I got it."
Think you can guess what the coveted object is in the paragraph above? Answer: A street cone.
In more University homes, apartments, suites, halls and rooms than one can imagine, an amazingly large assortment of stolen street signs and cones can be found. What spurs on the incredible desire to collect these objects, and why are there so many people willing to ignore the risks involved in taking one of these signs?
According to the Code of Virginia, stealing street signs is a Class 1 misdemeanor, and the fine could range anywhere from $500 to $2,500 and include a year in prison. However, the thrill of acquiring one of these street signs apparently outweighs the risks for most individuals.
Drunkenness, according to students, is one reason contributing to the onslaught of street-sign theft. At the time of theft, students say, the idea simply seems like a good one.
Another first-year College student tried to take a street cone for this reason.
"I was a bit inebriated one night and was coming back to my dorm when I saw a big construction barrel on the side of the road by the Tree House," he said, smiling as he remembered the incident. "It was already knocked over, so I picked it up and went for a walk, and the next thing I knew I was back in my dorm room. When my RA saw it, he yelled at me to take it back where I found it, so I ended up just throwing it back in the street because I couldn't remember exactly where I had picked it up."
Other students, also intoxicated, decided to take cones primarily for sentimental purposes. A second-year College student received the cone he now possesses when a friend decided to steal it for him as a birthday gift.
"One of my friends was drunk walking home one night and passed the construction area around O-Hill," he said. "He saw a cone, took it home and kept it in his closet, and then later gave it to me as a birthday gift. We still have it in the closet because we are afraid to get caught if someone finds out that we have it".
One third-year College student acquired her street sign because of a similar reason.
"It was my birthday, and I was just driving around with a friend when all of a sudden I thought, wouldn't it be really cool to take a street sign," she said. "So my friend just stopped the car in front of a sign that looked like it wasn't stuck too far in the ground. I ran out, pulled it up and shoved it in the trunk. I have it in my room now, and it brings back good memories."
For some University students, taking street signs or cones has become habitual -- a test to see how many they can take without being caught.
"I know a guy who has six 'No Parking' signs from football games last semester," a first-year College student said. "He was able to take the first one easily, so it just became a tradition for him."
Another sign "collector" and first-year Engineering student wants to use the signs his friends have taken for decorative purposes.
"A lot of my friends took some signs off of Rugby Road, so we are going to put them up in the house that we live in next year," he said. "We are going to have a whole wall covered with nothing but street signs."
According to some students, taking a sign places you in a selective group of people who have been able to acquire the coveted signs. Individuals who successfully commit this act can proudly display their stolen prizes for the admiration of all.
"One of my friends stole the little sign that goes beneath some stop signs to indicate a three-way intersection and put it on his door," a first-year College student said. "It's still there now, and everyone just thinks it's really funny. Now we all want one."
Friends of another first-year College student decided to relocate a sign they swiped in an effort to pull off a prank.
"My friends took the parking sign for the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences," he said. "Then they carried the sign to the Rotunda and stuck it right in the middle of the lawn. It was so great."
Whatever the reason for taking that certain street sign or cone, many University students decide to engage in this activity despite the possible consequences. According to some of the thieves, there is something dangerously cool about getting a sign which lures people to take them.
"It's just a really cool thing to do," a second-year College student said. "Everyone secretly wants one, and one day the urge just hits you, and you finally go out and get one for your own."
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