At the Cypress College library second floor, a large warning sign with dark blue capital letters states,”STOLEN!!! DO NOT LEAVE YOUR BELONGINGS UNATTENDED. THEY COULD BE STOLEN.”
How safe are one’s valuables when left unattended at a public place? Should students pack up their valuables or risk items being stolen?
“Stolen” sign at Cypress College library’s second floor.
When working solo at Cypress College library, the public library or Starbucks, there’s a time when one needs to catch a break and use restroom. At that moment, ones bladder is doing more action than the brain. Desperately seeking for a neighboring person to look over ones belongings, students secretly ask themselves, “Could I trust this person?”
Ali Youssef, a student and Computer Engineer major at Cypress College, studies at the second floor library with a MacBook pro laptop.
“I would rather trust someone with the same items like my MacBook,” said Youseff. “I wouldn’t really think someone would take it because they already own one. Or I’ll look at the person by their physical features and if they look weird, I’ll just take my stuff to the restroom.”
Jennifer Hernandez, 18, a Psychology major and student at Cypress College said that if she had to use the restroom, she trust her neighbors to look over her stuff.
“When my bladder is telling me to go, I go, but my mind is telling me I should stay,” she said. “Usually I trust the person who is sitting right next to me.”
Joyce Peacock, a librarian working on the second floor of the college library, says that the amount of stolen items has gone down.
“Not as much anymore now that we put security cameras in,” said Peacock. “We haven’t had so much stolen. Before it used to seem pretty regular. We would tell people not to leave their stuff unattended.”
Peacock also provided some valuable tips for students who use the library.
“I would rather be assured and take my stuff with me, depends if you see someone on a regular basis, then it’s okay,” she said.
Jawad Nafoosi, an Automotive engineer said, “I’ll just take my stuff with me, I don’t trust any one.”
“Be aware of your surroundings,” said Peacock.
