Spring Break
Losing, then finding: How WCC manages your missing items
Ta-Kara Roquemore
Issue date: 3/24/08 Section: Inside WCC
"It's my lucky day," is not what you'll hear from someone from Campus Safety & Security (CSS) when they discover something not belonging to them. Instead, they store it in a locker where it waits for the proper owner's claim. CSS often has more than a few items stacked in these lockers, although lately it's been close to bare. Usually there are mounds of calculators, textbooks, hoodies, watches, cell-phones, IDs and the latest technology crave, iPods. SS staffers have said they have had every available color at one time or another. CSS director Ron Schebil said he wants students to come back and claim their stuff. They can only hold onto these miscellaneous items for so long.
What happens when students don't take advantage of what's in front of them?
"We try to only keep the stuff for 30 days, 45 days being the longest," said CSS staffer Sherrie Jacobs, although Schebil said they will hold cash for 90 days.
When lost items come to CSS , they go through an exhaustive system.
"We track every piece of found property," Schebil said. A number is assigned to it, and then the following is accessed: How long it's been in, who turned it in, where it was found, when and how it's disposed. Finally, it gets sent over to storage and receiving, which is known as the college property disposition.
CSS tries to get the items back to the owners. However, if their original owners don't come to claim them, these items make their way to the school's eBay list.
For example, if a flash drive is found, it is opened to help locate a name. If a name is found, they go into BANNER, a system that has all students' contact information, and get a hold of them. The same process is used for drivers' licenses and cell phones.
"It has to be the owner that comes in to pick up their item," Jacobs said. "It can't be a friend or relative that calls up to say 'It's my daughter's. The owner has to give a full description."
Unfortunately, with no names, there is no way to track the owners down. For things like clothes, CDs, walkmans, and calculators, owners have to come and claim it independently. Clothing that is not claimed is donated to needy charities.
What happens when students don't take advantage of what's in front of them?
"We try to only keep the stuff for 30 days, 45 days being the longest," said CSS staffer Sherrie Jacobs, although Schebil said they will hold cash for 90 days.
When lost items come to CSS , they go through an exhaustive system.
"We track every piece of found property," Schebil said. A number is assigned to it, and then the following is accessed: How long it's been in, who turned it in, where it was found, when and how it's disposed. Finally, it gets sent over to storage and receiving, which is known as the college property disposition.
CSS tries to get the items back to the owners. However, if their original owners don't come to claim them, these items make their way to the school's eBay list.
For example, if a flash drive is found, it is opened to help locate a name. If a name is found, they go into BANNER, a system that has all students' contact information, and get a hold of them. The same process is used for drivers' licenses and cell phones.
"It has to be the owner that comes in to pick up their item," Jacobs said. "It can't be a friend or relative that calls up to say 'It's my daughter's. The owner has to give a full description."
Unfortunately, with no names, there is no way to track the owners down. For things like clothes, CDs, walkmans, and calculators, owners have to come and claim it independently. Clothing that is not claimed is donated to needy charities.
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