LAUINGER LIBRARY – During a long study session in the university library’s most popular floor on Saturday night, Kat Peterson (COL ’17) reportedly left her MacBook under the watchful eyes of a man wearing a ski mask and holding a pile of laptops “for safe keeping.”

“I had never met him before, but he seemed to be relatively young and nonthreatening, so I asked him if I could leave my laptop with him for an indeterminate amount of time so I could go get some coffee,” claims Peterson.

A kind hearted soul.

“You can never be too careful these days,” said Peterson in reference to the recent rise in thefts and muggings.

Peterson reports feeling “bowled over by the kindness of strangers” when the ski mask-clad man asked for her name, address, social security number, and computer password “just in case anything happened.”

“Man, you just gotta love this school. What a sense of community. I mean, it just warms my heart. Hoya freakin’ saxa.”

Jay Gruber, head of campus security, arrived at Lauinger Library later that evening after seven reports of stolen laptops. This raised alarm with many of the students, including Peterson, who was still in line for MUG at the time.

“Wow, that’s scary.  There are some weird randos who come to Lau, probably just looking for a gullible student to rip off,” Peterson said.

“Stuff like this is a reminder that we’re so close to the dangers and evils of the real world. Hopefully other people can learn to be more careful, like me,” suggests Peterson.

In light of the recent epidemic of computer thefts, Gruber warns students to never leave their laptop unattended and rather entrust it into the care of a fellow student who is “listening to music, has their back to your table, and looks like he honestly doesn’t give two shits if someone burns the building down, much less takes your computer.”