The newest addition to Quirky’s Community Team is Glen Gerbush, a college senior who will be interning with us for the month of January. Since this week’s Quirky Brief focuses on dorm security, we decided to pick his brain on the subject. Here’s what he said.
PHOTO CREDIT: David Freiman.
School/year: Oberlin ‘11
Major: Latin Language and Literature
Generally, how old are people who live in dorms?
18-21, but can definitely vary, especially if RA’s, TA’s, or professors can live in the dorms.
What are some standard dorm room setups?
Singles — One person rooms
Open Doubles — Two person rooms
Divided Doubles — Two singles divided by a door, usually without a lock
Quad — Two open doubles sharing a main space, or four singles
What furniture does a dorm room typically come with? What do you typically bring from home?
Usually the furniture for one person would be a bed-frame with a mattress, a desk and chair, and dresser. Some students bring some sort of boxes, drawers or shelving that might be collapsible.
PHOTO CREDIT: The Chronicle-Telegram.
What security measures are typically in place?
In terms of physical security, the doors to each dorm rooms have locks and some students lock their laptops to their desks if possible. If you have any electronics with Wi-Fi you can write down the IP address and it can be tracked if they are powered on, and on the school’s network.
What are the most stolen items? Who takes this stuff? What do they do with it when they take it (sell/keep)?
Laptops, iPods, cell phones, video game systems, jewelry, credit/debit cards, and cash are stolen most often. Both townies and students steal from dorm rooms. Sometimes things are kept, but again if it can be tracked there is a high risk involved.
Are items most typically stolen from rooms, bathrooms, classrooms, cafes?
Things are often stolen from unlocked dorm rooms or unattended backpacks in public areas such as a library.
5 Comments
MichelleB | 01/06/2011 5:50 PM
Wow thanks Glen and team – so much to think about now.
andrea | 01/06/2011 6:14 PM
Yup, but I did my research and there are a few more on that list…!! Helps a ton, thanks!
Andrew Agate | 01/06/2011 6:58 PM
Thank you for the insight and welcome to the Quirky family.
d | 01/07/2011 8:59 AM
Thank you Jesus, I mean, Glen.
D Schier | 01/07/2011 2:12 PM
Interesting…I thought back to my days (before ipods), and I figured that the most valuable items like electronics would probably be on the student most of the time.
So, I was thinking back and remembering that movies, money, food, sjewelry, video games, or anything else that was of value and loosely strewn about were at risk of being stolen by other students. Dorms are kind of like prisons: most of the stuff you take for granted at home are even more appealing to poor students. But, I didn’t really consider outside people breaking in and stealing stuff. I thought campus’ and dorms were better protected from that sort of thing.