Junette Reyes/Staff Writer
Within any given week, I am asked to watch someone’s belongings while they go to the bathroom. Mind you, we both are usually complete strangers to each other and are simply sharing a bench or table. I honestly do not mind watching over their belongings but the fact that some students ask complete strangers to do so baffles me.
This makes me think that perhaps, as a student body, some of us are probably too trustful of others, despite not knowing them at all.
I do not know if it is a sense of camaraderie since we are all students of FIU, or the simple fact that some of us just look trustworthy, such as myself.
Though the idea is a little troublesome to me, especially since most of the time it is some expensive type of technology that students ask a stranger to watch over. It does not seem to faze students, even when there are some areas on campus, such as the Green Library that have posters on the wall clearly directing us to be more cautious with our belongings due to a prominent streak of laptop theft.
In my case, I rarely ever ask someone to watch my stuff. Even if it means losing a great spot, such as the coveted tables on the first floor of GL, I will always take my bag with me. Call me paranoid, but that is just the way I work.
Senior psychology major Barbarita Guevara says she typically looks at the vibe of the person before determining that they are trustworthy to watch her belongings.
“If they’re friendly and engaging in conversation, I would feel that I can leave my stuff with them, especially if they asked me to do the same for them beforehand,” said Guevara.
Guevara indicates that if they come off as someone randomly sitting by, then she would not feel comfortable leaving her belongings with that person.
Junior English major Selena Peraza, on the other hand, is a little bit more trusting of others and says she always asks people to watch her stuff, even if she does not know them.
“It is usually when I go to the bathroom or do something very quickly, not for an hour,” said Peraza.
Peraza indicates that she never feels as though she is in an environment of untrustworthy people.
The matter obviously varies from student to student, but I do not think it would hurt to be just the slightest cautious from now on. This is an era and generation of technology, which makes us all very likely to possess something that is very much desirable and thus more likely to be stolen.
junette.reyes@fiusm.com
