What originally started out as a playful gimmick on TikTok, the “dread” stealing trend has found its way into the KIS school community and slowly but surely established itself as a school-wide crisis affecting all those who own Nike Elite Bags. On the surface, the trend involves stealing the intricately woven zippers from the famous Nike Elite Backpacks used by many teenagers worldwide. But when we scrutinize the nature of this action, it reveals itself as the illicit taking of one’s property, or theft, masked by the sensationalist glorification of “dread-collecting” on social media. Each year, when the annual winter basketball season comes around, a surge of Nike elite backpacks appear at school, serving as symbolic totes of superiority or, “nonchalance”, as one sophomore described it. Somehow, the dread-stealing epidemic found itself affecting basketball players and alike who carry around these bags around the school. In fact, in an interview with sophomore basketball player Ted Kim, we were told that “this trend wasn’t even around until a few months ago, when a certain group of students stole another student’s dread”. As a victim, Ted described the concerning action as being perceived as a “hip, trendy, and fashionable” activity by many players. He described his own experience as not just an emotionally damaging event, but as a hindrance to his backpack’s utility, as the missing zippers supposedly made it far more difficult to open his bag. 

Though no student has gotten in official “trouble”, so to speak, it is important to recognize that this trend is still a form of threat and punishable by law. Furthermore, perpetrators of this crime must be duly reported AND punished; the school’s administration must mandate and implement punitive measures against confirmed suspects. Unless the aforementioned actions are taken, the nature of this crime remains a light-hearted, playful “trend” that is practiced by many students across this school.