As of December 8th, students of Saint Augustine University are asked to turn in their room keys to the housing office before heading back home on their winter break.
For many students going home for the holiday is an exciting time, but what happens when you have to leave behind costly items in your dorm room? In this instance simple safety precautions can be taken to help minimize the theft of property.
You should always fully close and lock your door on your way out of your room/suite at all times even if it’s just for a quick minute. This applies especially for residents of Falkrest where there are 4 persons to a suite. Due to having roommates one might walk out and leave the door open behind them figuring the other person would lock it, however, that method might not be the best approach.
You and your suitemates should have an understanding of the importance of always locking your doors. The last person to leave out and head home for the day should double check and make sure the main suite door is locked before doing so. This simple step can prevent other students still on campus from entering the suite.
Another step to take would be removing all valuable items from out of the living room space and into someone’s room. This acts as a plan b incase the suite’s main door is accidently left unlocked, better to be safe than sorry. “I remember last semester I used to leave the main door unlocked all the time, I thought nothing of it until one day I came back and noticed a pair of my shoes missing from the living room area where I left them. None of my roommates were there at the time so someone coming in and taking them was the only explanation” said Dejah Brown, junior.
If you’re still at unease with leaving your items in your room and you want to ensure a peace of mind the safest method would be to just take them with you (for those that can). If you’re traveling by car and have a little extra space brining your television or play station along for the ride can’t hurt. For others who don’t have the option of taking the items with them there’s the option of placing your valuable items in storage. The cheapest way to do this would be to link up with a fellow student who might also want to place their items in storage and split the cost.
“Me and my friend are sharing a storage unit because we’re traveling home by plane, and I honestly wouldn’t trust leaving some of the items in my room for weeks at a time. I heard about a couple of students who’s items went missing so I’d rather take the necessary steps to make sure this does not happen to me” said Brandon Brower, sophomore.
All in all, students are encouraged to take whatever steps they deem necessary to prevent stolen items in the event of their return on January 7th, 2018.
