<p>Have there been cases of theft in the dorms? Is it worth buying a Lojack w/ my notebook for $50?</p>
<p>Just use common sense. Don’t leave your laptop unattended in the lounge. Don’t leave your door open/unlocked/propped when no one is in your room, etc.</p>
<p>If you want, just get a laptop cable lock and wrap it around your book shelf or bed post. That will deter any quick grabs.</p>
<p>I believe most instances of theft occur in the lounge or dining halls. Store all your personals in a locker at the dining halls (although the shelves do seem tempting at times) and try not to leave your things unattended in the lounge.</p>
<p>Make sure your roommates don’t leave the door open when you aren’t there. Keep your valuables out of plain sight. If you get a laptop lock, I’d suggest the kind with keys (not a combo lock) as I’ve gone through two combo locks that wouldn’t unlock! Luckily I was testing them first…</p>
<p>Oh - another note to add.
Don’t get complacent around campus. We had a laptop stolen from my student group during a meeting in Schoenberg, because everyone went outside for “just” a minute and it walked off. It was thankfully recovered later by campus police apprehending someone suspicious… but don’t ever, ever leave your stuff unattended anywhere on campus!</p>
<p>Yep, lock your stuff up at the dining halls, especially if you have a laptop or something else valuable in your backpack/bag. Like I said, common sense…</p>
<p>You don’t need a lojack. A laptop cable lock ($25 or under when on sale) will do it. An advice that everyone gives is to lock up your valuables and lock your room door when you aren’t in your room, even if you think that you’ll come back really quickly …</p>
<p>I believe someone on this board (a while ago) lost multiple articles in the dorms because the door was not locked. If I remember, it was on the Daily Bruin or featured on a published article.</p>
<p>Someone stole my electric toothbrush when I left it unattended in the res hall bathroom for a couple minutes. So yeah, there are definitely some theft issues. The curious part is, the brush is useless after a week sans charger, so I still can’t figure that one out.</p>
<p>That said, next year I’ll be in a plaza. Do you guys think I can trust my suitemates enough to leave my new electric toothbrush in the shared bathroom? I noticed my friend who had a plaza last year didn’t leave anything in the bathroom, nor did anyone else in the plaza. Is it just a matter of whom your suite mates are?</p>
<p>depends on how well you know your suite mates? although i would guess it can’t be that bad since if they steal it they probably going to use it? and you can just steal it back or at least catch them in the act of using it? (put a dot or something on it with a sharpie so you can recognize :D)</p>
<p>When I was at orientation (staying in Rieber Terrace), it looked like one of the drawers of each desk was able to be locked. Can I expect this convenience in Hedrick Hall?</p>
<p>@ Hedrick, there should be a lockable top drawer (I think), otherwise I believe you can lock a closet. </p>
<p>As far as suitemates, I knew all of mine so the stuff was everywhere. I think I would trust my suitemates.</p>
<p>i know sproul had lockable drawers and i know de neve dogwood didn’t… my friend at hedrick hall said some rooms has them and some doesn’t… im sure someone on here lived in hedrick can confirm…</p>
<p>i personally never used it and since i trust my roommates and know they are decently responsible to not leave the room open and unattended, plus i guess it is harder for people to steal from top floor middle of the floor room in a res hall :D</p>
<p>Salty - If I stole your tooth brush, I’d try to find a charger online for cheap :). I had to do this for my electronic toothbrush at home. I didn’t want to buy a whole new set so I just got a charger off ebay.</p>
<p>was this a new electric toothbrush or have you used it for a while?</p>
<p>how about bringing a external hard drive? is that safe? if you put it in a good place?</p>
<p>i think it should be safe to bring external hard drive, given that you are a careful person, if you leave your doors unlocked all the time while you are gone then you are bound to lose your stuff, but if you lock your door i actually don’t see anyway for them to pick that lock =.=</p>
<p>seriously people are making it such a big deal, it is not! your dorm is like your home as long as you lock the doors no one will steal from you, but if you leave it in public places like dining hall shelves or res hall bathrooms then it will get stolen, it is open to the public, don’t leave your stuff there, common sense :D</p>
<p>i have a good monitor, laptop, decently costly speakers, portable harddrive, ps3 all laying on my desk and i know i have nothing to worry about because as long as i lock my door, my stuff won’t get stolen</p>
<p>^Yeah, stop thinking your stuff with get jacked. Your dorm/apartment is like your house. Does your stuff get jacked from your house on a constant basis? Then the same will be for your dorm/apartment. </p>
<p>My dorm had so much crap in it. We had desktops that cost 2k+, $500 monitors, xbox, ps3, wii, and nothing ever got jacked because you just lock your door and you are safe, lol.</p>
<p>Sunset Village had a lot of theft troubles this year, I heard. A friend who lives there noted that Courtside had 5-7 incidents of people from the outside reaching into the ground-level windows and stealing things on the desk (they did not break into the window, but would pop the screen off if the window was open). So I’d definitely take care of your valuables. And close your window when you leave the room!</p>
<p>hey does anyone have the link to what to bring to the dorms, i remember there was a thread here, but i can’t find it anymore</p>
<p>also you can start a video chat with your neighbor on laptop, then you can see who popped into your room through the video :D</p>
<p>I lived in Hedrick Hall and there was only one lockable closet if I remember correctly lol.
I never locked anything, left my stuff in the room in “plain” sight, but we always kept our door closed. Fortunately nothing happened. </p>
<p>My roommate had a very badass desktop, but who’s gonna steal a desktop that’s not even in a case, with all the drives and cables all spread out on the table and fridge, with fans exposed so dangerously? </p>
<p>Oh yeah, I second MadeInChina’s remark about leaving your stuff in dining halls. Don’t put your stuff on the metal rack even if everyone’s doing it. I used to do it, but it’s too risky.
Btw, MadeInChina, did you get your stuff back?</p>