Student Senate director steals, burns Voice newspapers

Last week, thousands of issues of the Student Voice went missing from the racks in academic buildings across the UW-River Falls campus.

Tory Schaaf, who is a member of Theta Chi fraternity and the newly-elected shared governance director of Student Senate, admitted to stealing the newspapers from campus and using them for kindling to keep a bonfire going during a party.

Fellow Theta Chi member and Student Senate Ethics Chair Jason Schultz was also identified as an accomplice to the theft of the papers.

One party-goer, Stephanie McPherson, said the missing issues of the Student Voice that had disappeared provided warmth for all those outside the Theta Chi fraternity house.

She said the papers made pretty good kindling for the bonfire.

Schaaf said he took the copies of the Voice, and though the original intention was not to use them to start the bonfire, they were thrown into the flames at some point during the night.

Schaaf claimed to be unaware there was a limit to the number of copies of the student newspaper he could take.

Theta Chi President Ryan Stovern confirmed Schaaf’s role in the theft of the newspapers prior to his admittance of guilt.

“Tory did take the copies,” he said.

In last week’s issue, Schaaf’s name appeared in the police blotter of the Student Voice. On March 19, he was cited $1014 for absolute sobriety and prohibited blood-alcohol content. His blood-alcohol level was .11.

Though he did not admit to his intent for stealing the papers, Stovern said he had an ulterior motive.

“He was upset about [the police report] and didn’t want people to see his name in the paper,” Stovern said.

Student Senate Vice President Derek Brandt said that the matter would be “handled internally” when questioned about Shaaf’s confession.

“It’s unfortunate in general that anyone, let alone a member of Student Senate would do that,” Student Senate Advisor Gregg Heinselman said. “It looks like his judgement was a little off.”

The Student Senate will hold a closed-session meeting in order to deal with this issue, if they find it necessary to pursue the matter further. At that time, Schultz will be asked to step down from his position as ethics chair until the matter is resolved, Heinselman said.

Fellow Theta Chi member Erik Wood said he knew Schaaf was “pissed” about the police report.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the copies were burned,” he said of the actions Schaaf may have taken once he was in possession of the newspapers.

Stovern said although the burning of the papers may have taken place at the Theta Chi residence, it was an individual action of Schaaf’s and was not correlated with any festivities of the fraternity.

Stovern was unclear about when the papers were put in the fire and said it may have happened after the festivities ended or at a different location.

Racks in academic buildings are also set up to hold copies of the New York Times, which are used for certain classes. Students enrolled in those classes are charged $5 for a semester-long subscription.

Schaaf said he didn’t take copies of the Times because he didn’t want to take papers for which students are charged and said he was unaware students, through segregated University fees, pay for the production of the Student Voice.

When first notified last Friday of the stolen newspapers, Public Safety officials said they needed more evidence before they could investigate the theft.

After receiving more information, they were able to take further action. Public Safety is still investigating the matter.

This is not the first time a member of the UWRF community has stolen large quantities of the Voice. In May 2003, Ashton Flinders and two accomplices stole 2,000 copies of the paper and held them ransom in Centennial Science Hall.

An e-mail was sent to the Student Voice staff listing demands and threatening to remove all copies of the paper from the racks the following week.

Flinders was prosecuted for the “prank.” He was put on non-academic probation for fall semester 2003 and forced to serve 10 hours of community service for the Student Voice.

Flinders was in direct violation of a UW System statute which stated the University is an “environment that is safe from violence and free of harassment, fraud, theft, disruption and intimidation.”

At press time, both Public Safety and the River Falls Police Department officers were planning to hold a meeting discussing further prosecution of Schaaf.

Possible charges could include theft and vandalism of University property, prosecution from the Student Voice, and since the burning occurred within city limits, the River Falls police can also charge Schaaf.