To combat shoplifting, Broadway Market has introduced a new system for CRLS students. Starting November 4th, students must leave their backpacks in the front of the store. But will they leave their civil rights at the front door as well? The backpack policy was preceded by the recent receipt policy also aimed toward Rindge students. Many Broadway regulars, like William Holman ’25, label these measures as extreme or “Literally an Orwellian nightmare.” However, this is only the initial phase of Broadway’s plan to combat theft. Through a source familiar with the store, the Register Forum has acquired a set of radical policies that would potentially drop theft to record lows.
Profiling/Precrime: We live in a digital world where almost every aspect of our lives is recorded and sold to the highest bidder, offering a unique avenue to explore theft prevention at Broadway; Broadway management plans on purchasing student data and outsourcing the processing to ‘precognitives’ —psychic individuals who can predict the future—which will inform the store’s loss prevention team. Additionally, rumors have circulated that Broadway is assembling an ‘Elite Racial Profiling’ (ERP) team comprised of ‘Karens’ with keen eyes for so-called ‘blacktivities’ (Direct quote from the ERP team); Sources that are sometimes reliable have told the Register Forum that top figures in the Broadway management team have been considering adopting the controversial ‘stop-and-frisk’ policy from New York City. Team members would be able to stop ‘suspicious’ students for a search of contraband and police them accordingly. The adoption of this policy will likely lower shoplifting, yet legal experts have some concerns about the legality of stop-and-frisk for Broadway due to its use as a means to justify racial profiling in NYC.
In-store security: In addition to the bag policy, Broadway Market will allegedly be implementing stricter security measures starting at the door. Students may be forced to change into ‘Broadway Approved Clothing’ that lacks any sort of pocket, and students with Standard Screening will be forced to remove their shoes if the policies are enacted. Furthermore, Broadway employees would be the sole deciders in the case that an individual needs further screening which can include: external pat downs, interrogation, enhanced interrogation, and more ‘invasive’ bodily searches in certain situations.
Rindge students are nearly unilaterally opposed to harsher loss-prevention strategies as polling shows, so we asked students what they thought of the potential policies. An anonymous student compared the alleged policies to a personal experience of their grandfather, “My great-grandpa said that Stalin took power after a similar system was implemented at the local grocery store […] It was the worst years of his life!” Truly harrowing. But not all is doom and gloom. There are talks about boycotting Broadway unless certain demands are met, including the promise not to enact these aforementioned plans and to bring the pecan pie back on shelves. The Register Forum will track updates closely in the upcoming months.
