“The more expensive a school is, the more crooks it has – I’m not kidding,” says Holden Caulfield. This year, crime is making the headlines: mob violence in the Loop, laptop thefts all over campus, muggings off campus, and, worst of all, the slaying of a police officer.

These many crimes may have eroded people’s false sense of security, but I don’t think so. Just the other day, I overheard some woman in Whispers saying that no one would take her laptop in the few minutes she would be gone. Obviously, she hasn’t been paying attention to the fact that nearly all the laptop thefts have been crimes of opportunity.

I could spend this whole column telling you how to be safe, but people have already tried that. WUPD does an excellent job of telling you. (I’m sure you all remember the Wash. U. bear in that Safety video from freshman year.) All this advice is worthless if it falls on deaf ears.

The best way I can think to unstop people’s ears is to make them aware of how their personal behavior is unsafe. To do this, librarians should be given a roll of stickers that read, “STOLEN! This item was left unattended and could have been stolen. Please think about your security. See police.wustl.edu for more information about safe security practices.” Then, whenever someone leaves a laptop unattended, they could place the sticker on the keyboard to alert the individual of their unwise decision. A sticker would make the person realize that they could have been a victim. This alone should make that person more security conscious in the future.

In addition to the stickers, laptop locks should be made available at Olin. They could be checked out with a Wash. U. ID just like headphones are now. Laptop locks are a proven, low-cost method to reduce laptop theft. This would be an easy program for the library to implement, and students would take advantage of it.

With all that being said, we really do live in a very safe environment. We should appreciate WUPD’s efforts as well as each individual’s hand in creating this bubble of safety. I have never felt unsafe on campus, and I continue to enjoy walking at night. I hope you all feel the same safety, and that you all will think before you decide to leave your belongings unattended.

Brent is a sophomore in Engineering.  He can be reached via email at [email protected].