The Wawa, on the corner at 1707 Arch St has recently banned students from entering the store during and after school hours, allegedly due to the rise of theft in the establishment.

Over the years Wawa has been a cornerstone of many neighborhoods in Philadelphia and the greater Philadelphia area. With the Wawa TikTok trend of “Walk Away With Anything”, a fad that involves going into Wawa, grabbing as many snacks as you want, and then leaving without paying, the company has had to close multiple different locations that have faced a berate of theft.

According to the store security guard, when asked why school kids weren’t being allowed in, she responded, “They steal, they’re destructive, and they’re disrespectful.” She said, “Over the past few months, different items have been taken off the shelves, too.”

However, the security guard also said that the removal of different products off the shelves was not only because of theft, specifically teen theft. People experiencing homelessness are a source of conflict within the Arch St Wawa as well. So much so that store security said, “The homeless take small stuff off the shelves and then go reselling different snacks to stores and making a profit off of it.”

Some students are in disbelief that the WAWA they previously attended so frequently is now not as accessible as before. They believe that the ban is unjust and not fair to those who enter the store and don’t cause problems or steal. When asked about his perspective on the student ban, Jalen Whitfield ‘25, said: “I feel like the WAWA is the best spot for grabbing food during lunch or a little snack during break, but them not letting us in is nutty because it’s like… we’re not the ones stealing.”

Other FSS seniors shared similar statements. Ben Kessler ‘25 and Bryant Peacock ‘25 both expressed struggles with getting kicked out of the Wawa for seemingly no reason. Leila Banks ‘25, a frequent visitor at Wawa, explains that up until last year, everything was great, but recently, she has found it difficult to be let in. “There was a lot of theft going on… But you can’t just profile every student just because of that, I’m just trying to eat,” said Leila, “I’ve seen people steal from the Wawa but the thing is, it’s never really kids, it’s usually grown people, like it’s usually adults.”

The store ban doesn’t seem to be going anywhere and though it may make the job of security and the employees easier, students feel that the ban is unfair and want it gone. “It’s nutty that they won’t let us in,” said Isaiah Marshall ‘25.