Should i be concerned about stuff being stolen from my room? Does it usually happen in res....I know that im sort of careless and wont be locking my door if i have to go to the washroom..

Is it a good idea to buy a lockable cabinet so that i can keep my valuables (laptop, ipod, cell phone, money) in it? Or are drawers with locks already available in res...


Thanks

Instead of having to put everything in a cabinet to lock it everytime, it would be easier to just lock your door...

I agree with Jhan. You cannot leave your room unlocked. I've talked with so many people over the years who had their stuff stolen. Mostly laptops. This happens more often for people on first floors. Someone will just go into their room and take their laptop. I'm not saying MAC is ridden with thieves, but it does happen so be aware. Also, there was an article on the mac website which said that there has been an increase in laptop thefts at the libraries. Don't ever leave your stuff unattended.

An example is that on the second floor of Les Prince last year, the whole floor played this guy's N64 with was hooked up to the TV in the common room. Late into first term, it was stolen over the weekend. Along with the $10 fan I had kept in the common room to cool it down, cause it was like a jungle in there. Oh well.

Also, I know at least some rez doors can lock on the outside but stay unlocked on the inside. If you can make a habit of just keeping your door locked and bringing your keys around, then you should be fine.

Originally Posted by nh999

Also, I know at least some rez doors can lock on the outside but stay unlocked on the inside.

They're all like this - to have it locked on the inside and the outside would violate fire code. Basically, it can be either unlocked on both sides, or locked on the outside and open on the inside. And yes, this means that you have to remember to bring your keys with you when you leave, or else you're going to be paying for a lot of lockout keys :p

As for the security issues, I'll say that it's almost never people who actually live in your building who steal from other residents, which kind of makes sense if you think about it. That's one reason why you have to be extra vigilant if you live on the first floor. It's good to be cautious, but one problem with warning people like this is that it gives the impression that Mac is a hotbed of crime, when it's really not. Thefts are relatively rare compared to the number of people living there, but can happen. So again, prevention is the best route. To add sort of a counter-anecdote, in my 4 years of residence, I actually never knew a single person who had something stolen from their room. So be safe, but don't worry yourself sick. Leaving an N64 in a common room for a semester is a lot riskier than going to the bathroom for 2 minutes.

Oh, also, the best way to prevent most thefts is to not let people you don't know into your building. All the residences are locked on the outside, and you need your key-card to get in. I know most of us try to be helpful to our fellow humans, but holding open the door for someone coming in behind you (called "tailgating" in residence lingo) is a security nightmare, unless you know them. It's not rude to ask someone to wait outside for a friend or to use their own key to get in - if they do in fact live there, they'll probably appreciate that you're trying to make the building more secure. Just something to keep in mind.

At Les Prince, you can turn the knob on the inside to lock the door on the inside as well as the outside. This was really handy because you could not lock yourself out of your room. To lock your room from the outside, you either needed to be inside the room to turn the knob, or outside with your keys.

So many people in other residences lock themselves out of their rooms because if your door is set to lock from the outside, you can still open it from the inside. So people would open it from the inside and leave without their keys, but they'd realize it's locked from the outside.

I wonder if Mac will ever replace all the door knobs with the ones Les Prince have. That is very handy indeed. But I hope my habit of always bringing my keys when I leave my house stays with me in residence...

If it doesn't you're going to be paying a LOT in lock-out fees.

Unless it's changed over the years, the first one is free. Then it starts to increase, from $5 up to $20 each time.

And be nice and not lock out your roommate. That's why I ended up paying fees...grrrr

Yeah, I think it's still the same... I got this off their website:

Your first lock-out is free of charge. You have to pay $5 for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th times you lock yourself out. The 5th, 6th and 7th occurrence will each cost $10; the 8th occurrence onwards will cost $20 each.

Originally Posted by mitch

At Les Prince, you can turn the knob on the inside to lock the door on the inside as well as the outside. This was really handy because you could not lock yourself out of your room. To lock your room from the outside, you either needed to be inside the room to turn the knob, or outside with your keys.

So many people in other residences lock themselves out of their rooms because if your door is set to lock from the outside, you can still open it from the inside. So people would open it from the inside and leave without their keys, but they'd realize it's locked from the outside.

My room in Brandon does that..well sorta..if i lock it and close the door..it unlocks lmao! so i just use my key lol and make sure its locked up! EIther its a hand feature or its broke

Your door isn't broken...mine was the same last year. It DOES stay locked if you press the button once the door is already shut though...so if you want to lock it before you go to bed, or when you just don't want to be disturbed, you don't have to worry about locking it from the outside.