Greek Life members linked to burglaries

Once again, Keene State College students find themselves making local headlines.

In the wee hours of the morning of March 1, three students were arrested for the assault of a fellow student on 85 Winchester St., after showing up in retaliation to presumed stolen property. Shortly thereafter, at least two proceeded to 16 Belmont Ave. in search of additional missing property and further individuals to hold responsible, according to Keene Police Sgt. James A. Cemorelis.

According to the Keene Sentinel, Jonathan E. Holden, 22, Jared M. Skaats, 19 and Matthew Hecklinger, 19, are also members of the same college fraternity. All three were charged with at least one count of burglary, held at the Cheshire County jail in Westmoreland because they were unable to make bail and were arraigned on March 3. Their victim was also a member of a fraternity.

As if greek organizations didn't have it hard enough already. In the past few years, Greek Life has labored to improve their public image by struggling to go national and volunteering their time and services in the greater Keene community. Then, an event of vigilante stupidity like this comes along and threatens to unravel all the goodwill they have worked so diligently to accrue. Sometimes, you just can't catch a break.

Does one bad apple spoil the whole bunch? Certainly not, but this sort of 'street justice' has the potential to sway public opinion of greek organizations in a negative direction. The fraternity these young men belong to is irrelevant. It is essential they be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for their crimes, but it is equally as important to ensure the blame does not pass to individuals or organizations who are blameless.

Let this serve as a lesson to the rest of us that this sort of vigilantism is unacceptable in the greater Keene community. The Keene Police Department has more than enough resources to deal with these sorts of situations. Why not take utilize them?