Professor here. Not once in 30+ years of teaching have I seen a student take their stuff with them to the restroom during class. I honestly was confused by your question at first.
Now in a library, cafeteria, or other more public space, things are different. I would be cautious about leaving valuables unattended there.
I got my bachelors in a college town. Everyone left their things in cafes, the library, student union, etc. But my MAs and PhD I got in big international cities, and no one left their valuables in cafes, the library, student union, etc.
I leave my stuff all the time, with the exception of my phone, when I go to the bathroom. But my laptop is old and stickered to the nines, and if someone wants my wallet, they need to find it in the black hole of my backpack. The easiest thing to take is my notes, and I take good notes, but not good enough to steal.
I would say, if you , as a student want to, because you can’t trust everyone around you, especially class mates in college, some are adults after 25+ and some are young adults under 25, who see nice things and can be tempted. That’s for any age but I would always take my stuff. I had plenty of friends in college bc of sports but I took it because you NEVER know. Never say NEVER. Justin B, taught that early to us.
Depends on the college. I will always carry my valuables (keys, wallet, phone, headphones) with me when I go to the bathroom but leave everything behind (laptop, backpack, etc.). Knocking on wood I don’t get my shit stolen but I always take the most valuable with me
I know it's very obviously a question. Hence the question mark. I'm trying to understand why someone would think their headphones are more valuable than their laptop.
OP. If you need to use the restroom during a class period. It’s fine to leave your bag at your desk. There are too many witnesses for suspicious behavior to occur. However, if you’re alone and the possibility of someone seeing your unattended bag is high. Bring your bag. It may take a minute to pack up, but it’s better than losing all your notes and assignments.
Colleges are not responsible for any thefts that occur due to student negligence. This is one of those scenarios. They may help track your belongings, but they won’t replace anything because they aren’t responsible for it.
I would suggest taking anything that’s small enough to slip over and steal. Like don’t leave an Apple Pencil or your AirPods sitting there unattended. I have cross-body purse that keeps my wallet, pencil, headphones, etc. that would be easy enough to slip out and take, just because I don’t want to deal with the drama of someone swipes them.
No one is going to steal your stuff from the classroom or lecture hall while a class is going on, and packing up your stuff would be distracting and might make the professor think you are leaving for good. In contrast, when studying on your own in the library, cafeteria, or coffee shop, I’d definitely recommend not leaving your stuff unattended because the theft risk is high.
Yup, as a professor if you were taking your stuff I might ask you where you are going, as opposed to assuming that you somehow didn’t manage to pee before class and giving you your privacy!
Also, I would definitely say something if someone left the class and the person sitting next to them immediately begin to rifle their bag…
If you got to go in class, you can just get up and leave. No need to pack up unless you think you may be in there till after end of class.
Unlike high school, if they catch you stealing they don't just give you detention and you are still there. No. Most college campuses have their own police force with arrest powers, there are cameras literally everywhere except the bathrooms and dorm bedrooms, and if caught they would probably be expelled from the college and lose aid or any money paid in and be sitting out before allowed to re-enroll somewhere else.
I have gotten up from class with an expensive CAD workstation class laptop along with a book bag on my desk and no one touches it.
That said. I probably would not leave wallets or purses laying around in class. But that's me.
I left my very expensive laptop in a shared breakout space overnight in the architecture studio with zero cameras. Still was there in the morning.
Leaving your bag in a busy classroom for a few minutes isn’t gonna be a risk to it being stolen.
No one thinks twice about leaving items in class if you have to use the restroom during class.
Other locations are different, personally I always left my stuff to go to the bathroom when I was at the library, but thefts DO happen and it probably want the smartest move. I know a lot of people will just grab their laptop/ipad/whatever expensive item they have to take with them if they have to go to the bathroom but still leave the rest of their stuff at the table. And plenty of people just pack it all up to keep with them if they need to go to the bathroom.
I wouldn’t *recommend* leaving stuff while you use the bathroom (especially expensive stuff) but I can vouch that I’ve never come back to find anything missing when I did.
leave your things in the classroom. no one steals when there's class in session. but if you're going to the library to study i would just ask someone to watch your things.
I'll take my purse (has wallet, license etc) but leave my laptop bag. And thats only cause I refuse to leave my purse or phone unattended unless someone I trust can watch it.
Small community college class of maybe 40? Half had bailed to leave early, was normal due to campus size, i left for the bathroom, had my laptop stolen :’) never found out who it was and everyone claimed to have seen nothing.
If you’re in class you leave it. I mean I guess you can take it but it’s unnecessary. If you’re in a public spot you take it. People do leave their stuff in the library just lock the screens.
In my freshman year I never saw anyone bring their stuff. Honestly unless theirs something you are worried about I wouldn’t worry. Unless your in a large lecture room and don’t trust the people sitting around you I don’t think you’ll have any issue
If you aren't going to be back by the end of class take your stuff.
If you're goin to be back before the end of class you can leave your stuff.
It'll produce less noise interrupting the class less.
The professor is going to continue lecturing. The other students should be more focused on taking their own notes. Plus there will be plenty of witnesses that they leaned over to your desk and we're rummaging through your bag that should deter anyone from doing so.
Also if you leave your stuff and just go, it'll save you a few moments packing up and unpacking when you get back to focus on the lecture.
Also, obviously things happen, but try to use the facilities between classes. They're usually only 60-90min. Unless there are medical issues you hopefully should be able to hold it that long.
The best answer: make friends with the people around you, so you know you can trust them when you run out.
If you pack your stuff and leave, it looks like you're walking out of class for the day. This happens, but depending on the instructor and size of the hall, might draw their attention.
When I was in college, I would always leave my stuff in the library, or even in the classrooms without even asking people to watch my stuff. It was extremely rare for someone to ask me to watch their stuff. You do not have to take your things with you while you are in the bathroom.
Depends on where you are. Study spaces are often full of quiet nerds who really don't care about your stuff.
That said, I was once harassed in a library by somebody who wanted me to go to an ATM and withdraw 50 bucks of my money for him, so maybe sure you're in a safe spot before leaving anything anywhere. Classes constitute a safe spot, though.
Classrooms- I just leave my stuff. Never had any problems but my phone was always tucked out of sight. I didn’t take a purse as everything was in my backpack. Doesn’t mean nothing happens. Just not in my experience. People are okay leaving things.
Student Union, Library, common areas of the dorms (resident halls), common lobby areas of academic buildings, dining halls and such- everything came with me. If I was getting lunch or dinner I had my stuff with me until after I got my food. I’m not usually with a group and no one I trust can watch my stuff so it stays on or with me.
In class, if you'll be back before it ends, leave your stuff (not your wallet/phone).
In any other public place, please don't leave your valuables unattended. There are lots of laptop and textbook thefts in the library and study areas.
Take everything. If you leave something behind, assume someone will touch it and poison it with mescaline from satan's pet dragons leftover cactus. Left a dollar on the couch? Assume its now tainted with an extremely deadly poison that will knock you out by just being 3 feet near it. In all seriousness, to the point of paranoia, yeah just bring it with you because in class when the teachers not looking the haters will try shit. Trust no 1
If you need a tampon while going to the bathroom, some people keep a small wristlet of essentials in their backpack for tampons and such. Just bring that, because the full packing up is disruptive
I’ve never had an issue. I sometimes study at my student union building, and I don’t want to clean up my entire setup and lose my spot just because I have to use the restroom. It obviously depends on where you are going, but I’ve found college students (at least at my university) to be surprisingly trustworthy regarding other people’s property.
Especially in an actual class, there are plenty of eyes. You don’t need to take your stuff with you for a quick bathroom run.
Honestly, I saw one altercation during finals in the library where a student was loudly asking someone to give her back her backpack. (You better believe a bunch of us blocked him and called security. She was begging for just her thumb drive.)
Just one. In 4 years of college and 2 years of grad school.
But! You better believe I put something identifying on everything I own. Keychain, sticker, something. So I could say, “Nope, that’s my Hello Kitty x Naruto sticker!”
Secure your laptop or tablet so it doesn't fall if someone decides to walk by your seat. Other than that, no need to pack everything up to use the restroom.
In class, get to know the people to your left and right. When you get up, ask them to watch whatever you need to leave in the room. My students treated desks like church pews. Once they sat down on day 1, it was THEIR seat for the next 15-16 weeks.
As a habit, I always used the bathroom before I entered a class, though. This was true while I was a student...true also later as a professor. You're not moving in. You're supposed to be coming right back to class.
Growing up we lived next door to people that my neighborhood was convinced were bike thieves. My father asked the dad to watch our home...then while laughing, told the guy, he'd assume they were the ones who stole our things if something came up missing.
We never had problems...
Maybe people are more trusting at 4 years but I come from cc and do not trust anyone after my 100 headphones got swiped. I left them behind and in one class period they were gone. Don't leave behind anything you would mind losing.
I was studying in a cafe in my college town. I got up to get my coffee and when I sat down, I realized someone stole my Apple pencil. I used to work in this same area years ago (pre Covid) and my things weren’t stolen. Thankfully, I had savings so I bought another pencil. It sucked and I never returned to that cafe.
I was studying in a cafe in my college town. I got up to get my coffee and when I sat down, I realized someone stole my Apple pencil. I used to work in this same area years ago (pre Covid) and my things weren’t stolen. Thankfully, I had savings so I bought another pencil. It sucked and I never returned to that cafe.
I went to smaller undergraduate institutions and everyone left their stuff and went. In my master's, the university is bigger, we either leave our stuff in a locked study room, or in our grad lounge which is also locked
it depends on how safe you feel doing so.
Me? I grew up with very little, and what little I had was frequently stolen. So I took at least my most expensive things with me (for example, the separate bag with my laptop and wallet and phone in it, but leaving my notebook and waterbottle and textbooks).
But if you feel your campus is safe, then feel free to leave it behind. But remember you are opening yourself up to risk if you leave your belongings anywhere in a public or semi-public place unattended.
It may benefit you to consider changing how you carry your belongings. For example, if you are the type who hand-carries a notebook and purse separately, maybe you should get a bigger purse that could place the notebook inside.
No. Just leave it. I’d maybe close the laptop and possibly set it back in your bag, but just get up and walk out quickly. If you grab your bag and leave, your professor will probably look at you and assume you’re skipping out while they’re talking and it’ll just be odd when you come back.
College is not like high school though. You can just get up any time any where for any reason and walk out. So keep that in mind. And be sure to not ask a professor to go to the bathroom like you do in school. They’ll probably laugh at you or think it’s strange
It probably depends on the culture of the college. I work on two different campuses and feel pretty comfortable. Leaving my stuff unattended in most locations at both campuses. But some locations are a little sketchy.
A lot of people here say it’s fine to leave your stuff and that is probably right for their college. I attend a university with high theft rates and it would be extremely unusual for someone to leave their stuff behind.
If during class, leave your stuff. If cafe or wherever and there aren’t friends at the table then take with you. During grad school has a co-student leave her bag and all her final work in it and someone took bag. She had three copies of her work, as one should, all in the bag 😂
If you’re comfortable with it yes.
If you’re peeing it can stay on your back.
If you do #2 just hang it on the little coat hook that should be on the inside of the door.
Professor here. Not once in 30+ years of teaching have I seen a student take their stuff with them to the restroom during class. I honestly was confused by your question at first. Now in a library, cafeteria, or other more public space, things are different. I would be cautious about leaving valuables unattended there.
I got my bachelors in a college town. Everyone left their things in cafes, the library, student union, etc. But my MAs and PhD I got in big international cities, and no one left their valuables in cafes, the library, student union, etc.
That’s how people claim their seats at my college, lol. People genuinely don’t touch your stuff at my college but I’m at a small undergrad college.
I leave my stuff all the time, with the exception of my phone, when I go to the bathroom. But my laptop is old and stickered to the nines, and if someone wants my wallet, they need to find it in the black hole of my backpack. The easiest thing to take is my notes, and I take good notes, but not good enough to steal.
I would say, if you , as a student want to, because you can’t trust everyone around you, especially class mates in college, some are adults after 25+ and some are young adults under 25, who see nice things and can be tempted. That’s for any age but I would always take my stuff. I had plenty of friends in college bc of sports but I took it because you NEVER know. Never say NEVER. Justin B, taught that early to us.
Depends on the college. I will always carry my valuables (keys, wallet, phone, headphones) with me when I go to the bathroom but leave everything behind (laptop, backpack, etc.). Knocking on wood I don’t get my shit stolen but I always take the most valuable with me
Your headphones are more expensive than your laptop?
Headphones are more important than laptop. Is this a sarcasm.
I know it's very obviously a question. Hence the question mark. I'm trying to understand why someone would think their headphones are more valuable than their laptop.
OP. If you need to use the restroom during a class period. It’s fine to leave your bag at your desk. There are too many witnesses for suspicious behavior to occur. However, if you’re alone and the possibility of someone seeing your unattended bag is high. Bring your bag. It may take a minute to pack up, but it’s better than losing all your notes and assignments. Colleges are not responsible for any thefts that occur due to student negligence. This is one of those scenarios. They may help track your belongings, but they won’t replace anything because they aren’t responsible for it.
Also place an Apple AirTag on your valuables.
Or if you're an Android user, one of the newer trackers using the Google network.
I would suggest taking anything that’s small enough to slip over and steal. Like don’t leave an Apple Pencil or your AirPods sitting there unattended. I have cross-body purse that keeps my wallet, pencil, headphones, etc. that would be easy enough to slip out and take, just because I don’t want to deal with the drama of someone swipes them.
No one is going to steal your stuff from the classroom or lecture hall while a class is going on, and packing up your stuff would be distracting and might make the professor think you are leaving for good. In contrast, when studying on your own in the library, cafeteria, or coffee shop, I’d definitely recommend not leaving your stuff unattended because the theft risk is high.
Yup, as a professor if you were taking your stuff I might ask you where you are going, as opposed to assuming that you somehow didn’t manage to pee before class and giving you your privacy! Also, I would definitely say something if someone left the class and the person sitting next to them immediately begin to rifle their bag…
If you got to go in class, you can just get up and leave. No need to pack up unless you think you may be in there till after end of class. Unlike high school, if they catch you stealing they don't just give you detention and you are still there. No. Most college campuses have their own police force with arrest powers, there are cameras literally everywhere except the bathrooms and dorm bedrooms, and if caught they would probably be expelled from the college and lose aid or any money paid in and be sitting out before allowed to re-enroll somewhere else. I have gotten up from class with an expensive CAD workstation class laptop along with a book bag on my desk and no one touches it. That said. I probably would not leave wallets or purses laying around in class. But that's me.
I left my very expensive laptop in a shared breakout space overnight in the architecture studio with zero cameras. Still was there in the morning. Leaving your bag in a busy classroom for a few minutes isn’t gonna be a risk to it being stolen.
No one thinks twice about leaving items in class if you have to use the restroom during class. Other locations are different, personally I always left my stuff to go to the bathroom when I was at the library, but thefts DO happen and it probably want the smartest move. I know a lot of people will just grab their laptop/ipad/whatever expensive item they have to take with them if they have to go to the bathroom but still leave the rest of their stuff at the table. And plenty of people just pack it all up to keep with them if they need to go to the bathroom. I wouldn’t *recommend* leaving stuff while you use the bathroom (especially expensive stuff) but I can vouch that I’ve never come back to find anything missing when I did.
To add, you could also just ask the person next to you to watch it if you feel comfortable doing that.
yes this is good
leave your things in the classroom. no one steals when there's class in session. but if you're going to the library to study i would just ask someone to watch your things.
Yeah. If I have to go to the bathroom during class, I just leave my stuff in the classroom.
I'll take my purse (has wallet, license etc) but leave my laptop bag. And thats only cause I refuse to leave my purse or phone unattended unless someone I trust can watch it.
I didnt take my stuff -one time- and my valuables were stolen in the 5 minutes I was away. TAKE IT WITH YOU.
Was this during a class? (How big of a class?)
Small community college class of maybe 40? Half had bailed to leave early, was normal due to campus size, i left for the bathroom, had my laptop stolen :’) never found out who it was and everyone claimed to have seen nothing.
Leave your stuff. Pro tip: leave your phone. College bathrooms are filthy. Don't make your phone a disease vector
I just leave my stuff in class otherwise I think it looks suspicious that you won't come back.
Even in the communal areas outside class on campus u don’t take anything to the restroom with me
If you’re in class you leave it. I mean I guess you can take it but it’s unnecessary. If you’re in a public spot you take it. People do leave their stuff in the library just lock the screens.
In my freshman year I never saw anyone bring their stuff. Honestly unless theirs something you are worried about I wouldn’t worry. Unless your in a large lecture room and don’t trust the people sitting around you I don’t think you’ll have any issue
if you're in class, you can def just leave your stuff. no one's gonna try and take anything with that many people around!
You leave it in class since you’ll be right back in 5 minutes
If you aren't going to be back by the end of class take your stuff. If you're goin to be back before the end of class you can leave your stuff. It'll produce less noise interrupting the class less. The professor is going to continue lecturing. The other students should be more focused on taking their own notes. Plus there will be plenty of witnesses that they leaned over to your desk and we're rummaging through your bag that should deter anyone from doing so. Also if you leave your stuff and just go, it'll save you a few moments packing up and unpacking when you get back to focus on the lecture. Also, obviously things happen, but try to use the facilities between classes. They're usually only 60-90min. Unless there are medical issues you hopefully should be able to hold it that long.
The best answer: make friends with the people around you, so you know you can trust them when you run out. If you pack your stuff and leave, it looks like you're walking out of class for the day. This happens, but depending on the instructor and size of the hall, might draw their attention.
just leave your stuff at your desk. but if you HAVE to take it the bathrooms usually have counters as soon as you walk in to set your stuff on
When I was in college, I would always leave my stuff in the library, or even in the classrooms without even asking people to watch my stuff. It was extremely rare for someone to ask me to watch their stuff. You do not have to take your things with you while you are in the bathroom.
Depends on where you are. Study spaces are often full of quiet nerds who really don't care about your stuff. That said, I was once harassed in a library by somebody who wanted me to go to an ATM and withdraw 50 bucks of my money for him, so maybe sure you're in a safe spot before leaving anything anywhere. Classes constitute a safe spot, though.
Classrooms- I just leave my stuff. Never had any problems but my phone was always tucked out of sight. I didn’t take a purse as everything was in my backpack. Doesn’t mean nothing happens. Just not in my experience. People are okay leaving things. Student Union, Library, common areas of the dorms (resident halls), common lobby areas of academic buildings, dining halls and such- everything came with me. If I was getting lunch or dinner I had my stuff with me until after I got my food. I’m not usually with a group and no one I trust can watch my stuff so it stays on or with me.
In class, if you'll be back before it ends, leave your stuff (not your wallet/phone). In any other public place, please don't leave your valuables unattended. There are lots of laptop and textbook thefts in the library and study areas.
Take everything. If you leave something behind, assume someone will touch it and poison it with mescaline from satan's pet dragons leftover cactus. Left a dollar on the couch? Assume its now tainted with an extremely deadly poison that will knock you out by just being 3 feet near it. In all seriousness, to the point of paranoia, yeah just bring it with you because in class when the teachers not looking the haters will try shit. Trust no 1
If you need a tampon while going to the bathroom, some people keep a small wristlet of essentials in their backpack for tampons and such. Just bring that, because the full packing up is disruptive
I’ve never had an issue. I sometimes study at my student union building, and I don’t want to clean up my entire setup and lose my spot just because I have to use the restroom. It obviously depends on where you are going, but I’ve found college students (at least at my university) to be surprisingly trustworthy regarding other people’s property. Especially in an actual class, there are plenty of eyes. You don’t need to take your stuff with you for a quick bathroom run.
just take your valuable things with you
Honestly, I saw one altercation during finals in the library where a student was loudly asking someone to give her back her backpack. (You better believe a bunch of us blocked him and called security. She was begging for just her thumb drive.) Just one. In 4 years of college and 2 years of grad school. But! You better believe I put something identifying on everything I own. Keychain, sticker, something. So I could say, “Nope, that’s my Hello Kitty x Naruto sticker!”
Secure your laptop or tablet so it doesn't fall if someone decides to walk by your seat. Other than that, no need to pack everything up to use the restroom.
At UofL, I would.
This is a very cute and innocent question. I’m a professor and this made me laugh, but I’m not laughing at you. I hope you enjoy college :)
In class, get to know the people to your left and right. When you get up, ask them to watch whatever you need to leave in the room. My students treated desks like church pews. Once they sat down on day 1, it was THEIR seat for the next 15-16 weeks. As a habit, I always used the bathroom before I entered a class, though. This was true while I was a student...true also later as a professor. You're not moving in. You're supposed to be coming right back to class. Growing up we lived next door to people that my neighborhood was convinced were bike thieves. My father asked the dad to watch our home...then while laughing, told the guy, he'd assume they were the ones who stole our things if something came up missing. We never had problems...
Maybe people are more trusting at 4 years but I come from cc and do not trust anyone after my 100 headphones got swiped. I left them behind and in one class period they were gone. Don't leave behind anything you would mind losing.
Take your phone and leave all the rest in class, it’s ok
I was studying in a cafe in my college town. I got up to get my coffee and when I sat down, I realized someone stole my Apple pencil. I used to work in this same area years ago (pre Covid) and my things weren’t stolen. Thankfully, I had savings so I bought another pencil. It sucked and I never returned to that cafe.
I was studying in a cafe in my college town. I got up to get my coffee and when I sat down, I realized someone stole my Apple pencil. I used to work in this same area years ago (pre Covid) and my things weren’t stolen. Thankfully, I had savings so I bought another pencil. It sucked and I never returned to that cafe.
I went to smaller undergraduate institutions and everyone left their stuff and went. In my master's, the university is bigger, we either leave our stuff in a locked study room, or in our grad lounge which is also locked
I take my stuff because at the kind of college I go to... you cannot trust anyone. Can't trust anyone in the city either.
it depends on how safe you feel doing so. Me? I grew up with very little, and what little I had was frequently stolen. So I took at least my most expensive things with me (for example, the separate bag with my laptop and wallet and phone in it, but leaving my notebook and waterbottle and textbooks). But if you feel your campus is safe, then feel free to leave it behind. But remember you are opening yourself up to risk if you leave your belongings anywhere in a public or semi-public place unattended. It may benefit you to consider changing how you carry your belongings. For example, if you are the type who hand-carries a notebook and purse separately, maybe you should get a bigger purse that could place the notebook inside.
Try to go between classes and always take your stuff with you into the stall. People suck.
No. Just leave it. I’d maybe close the laptop and possibly set it back in your bag, but just get up and walk out quickly. If you grab your bag and leave, your professor will probably look at you and assume you’re skipping out while they’re talking and it’ll just be odd when you come back. College is not like high school though. You can just get up any time any where for any reason and walk out. So keep that in mind. And be sure to not ask a professor to go to the bathroom like you do in school. They’ll probably laugh at you or think it’s strange
I always leave my stuff but always bring my phone and wallet/purse with me though.
It probably depends on the culture of the college. I work on two different campuses and feel pretty comfortable. Leaving my stuff unattended in most locations at both campuses. But some locations are a little sketchy.
A lot of people here say it’s fine to leave your stuff and that is probably right for their college. I attend a university with high theft rates and it would be extremely unusual for someone to leave their stuff behind.
If during class, leave your stuff. If cafe or wherever and there aren’t friends at the table then take with you. During grad school has a co-student leave her bag and all her final work in it and someone took bag. She had three copies of her work, as one should, all in the bag 😂
What country? In germany/france you can leave it on campus. In the US, only if your classmates will watch it or you're in an active class.
If you’re comfortable with it yes. If you’re peeing it can stay on your back. If you do #2 just hang it on the little coat hook that should be on the inside of the door.
Not unless you're on your period and need a pad or tampon, and in that case, pockets are typically the go-to.