The Mary Jo Marketplace has experienced the worst crime rate since its opening last spring. The store, run by the company Canteen, is an important part of food options for students on campus. Intensified analysis over the last three weeks has now concluded that 50% of all stocked material was taken without any payment via ClarkeID or other payment methods. These published numbers also clarify that it is not just an increase of 50% but an overall stealing rate of half the products.
On February 21st, 2024, the Mary Jo Lounge reopened to students again, after getting a complete makeover and adding a brand-new "Mary Jo Marketplace", where students can buy snacks, drinks, and sandwiches. The marketplace is one result of the survey last year that highlighted food insecurity as one of the biggest issues for on-campus students. Almost a year later, the marketplace is facing major issues and could be taken away again.
In November, Clarke got assigned a new representative by the Canteen company, which is responsible for overseeing the marketplace installed on campus. This representative quickly saw a discrepancy between what had been re-stocked and what had been paid for. He then reached out to his "Loss of Prevention Team", who realized that there was a significant amount of theft happening. Since then, Canteen has been tracking the marketplace very closely, watching video material, and analyzing collected data. In only 3 weeks, they realized a theft rate of 50% of all products. The team analyzed camera footage live and caught about 1-2 thefts per hour of watching.
Clarke was made aware of this about a week ago, being unaware of the ongoing theft from students. The administration has made clear that they will intervene immediately, starting several misconduct cases in the last week against students who have been identified stealing from the marketplace. Furthermore, a campus-wide email was sent out by Residence Life, publishing the issue at hand. After clarification it became clear that Canteen had started their analysis from a root number of 0% stealing, meaning that the theft was actually 50%, not just an increase.
The future of the marketplace is unclear, with Canteen having control over any further decisions. As of now, the marketplace will remain open and the company hopes to see a decreasing number soon. Before installing the marketplace, Canteen invested a large amount into Mary-Jo-Lounge, because the power supply to the room was not high enough to provide for it and they paid for electricians to pull more power from the generator to the room. While this shows the commitment Canteen has to supply Clarke University, further losses of half the products will leave them no further option but to close the location.
Callie Clark addressed the student-leaders and said that the "Community needs to be better" and that there is a "real threat" of it being taken away, even though it is very helpful for many students. She also sees a correlation between the theft rate and the incidents in the Mary-Jo residence hall this semester, which included fights in hallways, excessive noise, and trash in the bathrooms.
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