Cora Wu
Upon seeing the Bun dressed in a Cinnabon box, CAS dean Matthew Santirocco said, "The Bun Bandit is tormenting me."
CAS Dean Matthew Santirocco discovered a beautifully wrapped package in his office on Monday. Inside was a Cinnabon box containing "a cherished relic," he said — NYU's infamous Bun, known for being stolen periodically over the last 90 or so years.
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The dean also found a card issuing a warning in perfect verse. The final line? "You might want to keep a close eye on it."
"It's pretty ominous," he said. "On one hand, we're delighted to have it back and the whole college is rejoicing. On the other hand, the last sentence in the Bun Bandit's note suggests another act of thievery might happen at any time."
The Bun is part of a tradition at NYU that was started in 1885. Each year, seniors would award the Bun to the most spirited class. The winning class would then hold the prize until they themselves graduated. Then, in 1919, the seniors passed the Bun to the class of 1922, angering the class of 1921.
On the eve of the passing of the Bun, a thief stole the bread before it could be awarded. And with it, a new tradition was born — the stealing of the Bun.
Santirocco said CAS was happy for the Bun's return.
"The college community is now rejoicing that their cherished carbohydrate is safe and sound," he said.
The Bun will return to its shrine on the ninth floor of Silver later this week.
Santirocco said security will be heightened.
"We can't afford a 24-hour guard for the sacred Bun, but we will tell everybody to be particularly alert," he said. "Obviously the Bun attracts a criminal element in the college so now we will have to be extra vigilant. We have not yet reached the level to employ Homeland Security techniques, but we're considering it."
The Bun was stolen during last year's CAS Bun Week events. The Bun Bandit e-mailed a list of demands to Santirocco, and though the requests were met, the Bun was still not returned.
Because the initial demands were written in verse, he suspects the Bun was returned by the thief.
"We haven't received one of these letters for a whole year," he said. "It's very interesting. This was, like, 12 months of planning. A lot of work went into this."
CAS freshman president John Boyd II said the return of the Bun was a successful closing to the week.
"Everyone enjoyed themselves and, as far as I know, people left feeling better than they came," Boyd said.
Santirocco attributes the Bun's return to the WSN article that ran last week.
"Though we still don't know who he or she is, at least we got the Bun back and that's something," he said.
