Students React to the Breakers Break-in

By: Justine Tomon
Posted In: News

The Salve Regina University cafeteria always echoes with the voices of students trying to catch up on the latest gossip. Nothing can interfere with this precious time before they march off to their classrooms. But Thursday, May 4 the news at noon silenced the room.

Heads whipped around as the anchorman said, “An update in the break-in at the Breakers.” Whispers rippled through the tables and the rumor mill started up.

Students are struggling to differentiate between rumors and facts of the Saturday, April 29 break-in and theft of almost $100,000 worth of items. Four freshmen are suspected in the crime. Security for both the university and the Newport Preservation Society are keeping their lips firmly sealed.

“You’re not going to get anything from anyone here,” said Tom Faiola, a work study student at Salve’s safety and security office. Officers posted at the entrance to the Breakers replied in a similar manner stating matter-of-factly, “We’re not allowed to comment.”

But what the officials are keeping to themselves is thriving in the social network of college students craving to know the true scoop.

The break-in has been locally well publicized, but students felt like they were the last to know. “We were emailed about a Mumps outbreak in the Midwest, but we didn’t get anything about this,” said Kristin DiLorenzo, a sophomore. Tuesday, when DiLorenzo and friends left the cafeteria, they learned about the break-in from an eyewitness news truck camped outside of Ochre Court.

Over the next couple of days, more news trucks appeared wanting to know every detail. Those same details elude the students so desperate to learn what actually happened. Katie Sparks witnessed a few of the boys accused of breaking and entering moving out of their dorms later Tuesday afternoon. “Their parents seemed to be in good spirits. They were joking saying, ‘Well if this doesn’t work out, the Southern University of Maine has a nice campus’,” Sparks said.

Joking and lighthearted wisecracks are rare around campus. Instead, several students feel bad for the boys and said they are really good kids. “I think after they realized how valuable the stuff they took was, they regretted what they did,” Sparks added.

But some students are simply flabbergasted by the news. “Anyone who goes to Salve should have an appreciation for the Breakers,” said Mallory Motta. The Breakers is one of the most attractive places to tourists and students feel that they have a responsibility to treat the building with respect.

“Why would you steal from a historic landmark?” exclaimed a passionate Alex Moshier, with a mixture of disbelief and bewilderment. The students around her nodded in agreement with similar expressions of confusion. The group of students, who were otherwise enjoying a gorgeous day, emphasized their shock and disappointment that Salve students would disrespect such a monument.

The Breakers is one of Newport’s most famous mansions, appearing in 1974’s The Great Gatsby. With tourists filtering through its illustrious wrought-iron gates daily, it is an assumption that security would be secure in order to thwart any theft attempts. This is why students are so confused. How did a group of teenage boys break into one of the most well known mansions in Newport? Students can only speculate until officials make a statement.

Campus is crawling with different theories and assumptions about what happened. Everyone is yearning for the facts, and the questions are overshadowing typical end of year talking points. Usually students are anxiously murmuring about final exams and excitedly chatting about summer plans. But they aren’t talking about tests. And they aren’t talking about summer.

Most students are making preparations to bring dorm d