From the Archives is a series of reposted articles from a previous iteration of The Lindeman Daily. There is more information about that iteration of the site in the About section, but the gist is that each post is a satirical news article sensationalizing the life of a college student/recent graduate. Most of these pieces are over 10 years old; some have aged like wine while others have aged like milk. And like aged wine and aged milk, they are probably more palatable when all mixed together. Enjoy!
Originally published March 23, 2012
On February 21, T. Lindeman ’14 went to retrieve his bike from in front of his Campbell Hall dorm room at Princeton University, only to discover that it was no longer there. The bike, a 21-gear Trek 7000, had been stolen.
“The first thing everyone asks me is whether or not I am sure I had locked it there,” said Lindeman. “I’m always sure of the first thing that pops into my head, but I decided to humor them. I looked all over campus for the next few days until it was definitive. My bike was gone.”
After reporting it stolen to the University’s Public Safety, Lindeman realized that something needed to be done. He repeatedly referred to the campus’ Public Safety officers as “a gang of amateurs… no better than a kid dressed a Sherlock Holmes when it comes to [a case like] this.”
“I always knew this place was unsafe,” said Lindeman. “But it wasn’t until that lack of safety affected me directly that I wanted to do something about it.”
“Yes, his words were pretty uncalled for and rather hurtful,” said a spokesperson for Public Safety. “We and doing our best, but there are a lot of bikes out there. Also, we had a bunch of other crimes we had to take care of too. One guy had a key in his door lock, that’s not allowed. And another girl had an extra mattress in her room, nuh-uh, no way. These criminals will not be tolerated, they are much more dangerous than bike thieves. Anyway, we believe that bike is gone for good.”
Though adamant about the need for action when it came to bike theft, Lindeman seemed to think for a moment, and then admitted it was best to leave the investigation to Public Safety. Lindeman then excused himself, citing a prior commitment that he had just at that moment remembered.
In an odd coincidence, just after Lindeman decided it was no longer the time for action, a man wearing a mask and tiger-head hat began accosting people as they rode by on their bikes. When they passed him, the masked man would pounce, tackling the riders to the ground and demanding that they tell him if they knew where his bike was.
“This new figure taking the law into his own hands is a menace,” said the Public Safety spokesperson. “He is undermining our entire safety system and breaking a number of our rules. He must be stopped. At all costs. If anyone has any information concerning the identity of this bandit, please pass that information along to us.”
In an anonymous email sent to the Lindeman Daily, a man claiming to be this masked bike-tackler explained that he is a vigilante for justice. “I am on a crusade to free this campus’ bike population from the fear of being stolen. The time for ignoring the perpetrators is over. And it is only through an iron fist that justice can prevail.”
Lindeman is very grateful for the man’s work. According to Lindeman, he is getting very tired of walking around from place to place. “I realized I had to start waking up ten minutes earlier to get to class on time,” said Lindeman. “Of course, I didn’t do it, but I would have had to if I didn’t want to be ten minutes late every day. So I’m happy this mysterious, handsome man is working to stop bike theft.”
While Lindeman appreciates this mysterious man’s handling of bike thieves, many others do not. “I didn’t even do anything,” said one such student. “It was a Friday night and I was biking to Forbes — to the Bulgarian table for dinner, of course — and this guy just appeared in front of me. He jumped me and asked me where I got my bike, and if I knew where his bike was. I couldn’t even answer his second question because I didn’t know who the guy under the mask was.”
The vigilante does not limit his attacks to strangers on bicycles. Video surveillance has also caught him attempting to flip over a golf cart while yelling about how tired his legs were. After failing to overturn the cart, he kicked the tires a few times before the vehicle’s driver arrived, turned it on, and drove off.
“I think this guy is really helping the community here on campus,” said Lindeman. “He’s made it his job to make this campus safe, and he’s not afraid to do whatever it takes to get that job done.”
The campus has not seen a single positive change as a result of the masked vigilante’s actions; there is an increase in scraped knees from people being tackled off of their bikes, as well as a continuing rise in bike thefts.