ExaltedAlmighty

For the next laptop, invest in Lojack or some other laptop theft recovery. Prey is another good one that I have on both my laptop and phone, and it's free. It connects to the internet and tells you where your laptop is and can take a picture of the person using it after you sent out an alarm. A lot of stolen laptops have been recovered that way. Just make sure you have your BIOS pass-protected and not set to boot from USB or disk so it's harder for the thief to reformat it. Also, have a dummy guest account that's unlocked for him to log into.

nysmile

You left the door unlocked. This action allowed an unknown person to enter your room and steal your laptop. Thus, it's your problem. Be thankful the only thing this guy did was steal a laptop. You put yourself in a position where you easily could have been assaulted.

Example: You leave your car doors unlocked. Someone unknown to you opens the car door and steals your ipod which was left in the center console. Would you ask your roommate to give you money towards buying a new one? The answer is, NO.

Next time, lock your door. If your roommate has issues with her key, tough. It's her problem. Keep your darned door locked when you're sleeping and when you leave the room.

blueiguana

From a parents POV whose son's rm lost/forgot/never carried keys so their first year dorm room was left unlocked unless it was a holiday and they were gone...

Despite a strong single sanction honor code and a very low incidence of theft it never sat well with me. We loved his rm, but this was just a lot of risk in our opinion. We made it clear to our son that it was between he and his rm but if anything was taken, specifically his very expensive laptop for e'school it was squarely on his shoulders. We would never hold his rm responsible and ask him to help pay! They are adults and worked it out themselves. If our son wanted a different arrangement he was capable of working that out.

Ironically the apartment they share this year has a door that automatically shuts and locks behind them, although the bedroom door is never locked. His rm lost his keys by mid Sept. He simply has to wait for someone else to let him in. Oddly, he's exceptionally successful in his studies, campus activities, etc. he just can't hang onto a key.

I agree with those that are trying to say this is a learning lesson. It's not your rm's responsibility. You made the choice to continue to accommodate her. You were perfectly able to tell her you would be keeping the door locked and she'd need her key. It's always good to have a roommate agreement and have expectations like this in writing from the start.

Enigmacat

How do you know it was a "man" if you were asleep? Was he seen by others? Did you file a report?

meghanmcgraw

I explain how I knew it was a man in an earlier post. Seen by others. Yes, I filed a report and campus safety over here as done nothing to catch the thief. We have to scan in to even get in the building and onto each floor, so to me it could be simple to see who scanned in or was checked in as a guest. But the other case could be that somehow he got past the front desk and got someone to scan him on to our floor.

CollectivSynergy

Was it your roommate's fault? Yes, she is partly to blame. But that doesn't mean she's responsible for replacing it, since you made the decision to keep the door unlocked. Just keep it locked in the future and tell her to put up or shut up.

meghanmcgraw

I know she should not replace the whole thing, just maybe throw in a little contribution. I am thinking I could get a cheaper used Macbook or Macbook Pro from craigslist (there are ones going for $500-600) and have her pay for at least half. Is this fair? Also, last night when she came in the room to go to bed, she still failed to lock the fricken door, so I had to get out of bed and lock it myself.

meghanmcgraw

Also, I am going to recommened to my RA they put something about stolen items in the roommate contract. With that, I could be focusing on school work right now rather than worrying about asking her to pay a bit.

SingDanceRunLife

Don't ask her to contribute anything.

As I said before, it's your fault because you are the one who failed to lock the door. Yes, you did it to be nice to her, but, as you are an adult, you need to take responsibility for your actions. And in this case, the action you decide to take was to go to bed, with the door unlocked which led to a man being able to get into your room while you were sleeping. If you had locked the door, this would not have happened, therefore, the responsibility of paying for your loss fall on you.

It would be different if you were out, and your roommate failed to lock the door because that's something you have no control over. But you consciously chose to leave the door unlocked, so I'm sorry, it sucks that your laptop was stolen, but it's your fault, and your problem, not your roommate's.

Also, as I said before, if I were your roommate and you asked me to help you pay for a new laptop, I would be offended. And if you asked me to pay for half, I would be appalled.

intparent

I assume you reported this theft to the local police... if you haven't, you should do so. Not just campus police. It won't get your money back, but it does create a record of the criminal activity so if they ever catch the person who did it, they have a better chance of prosecuting them. Also provides a trail of crime on campus that could be useful to other potential students to see...

SDRL, you have stated your opinion several times... repeating yourself does not add to helping the OP think this through.

SingDanceRunLife

I'm repeating myself because it will hopefully get through the OP's head at some point that she needs to assume full responsibility because the event occurred because of the actions she took, not because of her roommate.

romanigypsyeyes

No it's not fair to ask her to pay for half. It's not fair to ask her to pay a cent.

NovaLynnx

You have already mentioned to her about paying for some of the loss. She made it clear she will not. You cannot force her, and in my opinion she should not offer anything to you, end of story. I agree that it is your fault for making the decision to go to bed with an unlocked door.

As for your presumption of the young male...sounds more like racial profiling to me. It could have been anyone. Another girl could have gone in knowing that the door is rarely locked. Another girl could have heard your roommate ask you to not lock the door. You have no idea what happened because you were asleep.

Just because your roommate asks you to do something does not mean you must do it, especially when it goes against your better judgement.

nysmile

It's an absolutely ridiculous idea for you to even suggest that your roommate kick in money so you can buy another laptop. Ask your own parents.

You left the door unlocked. You left the laptop in plain view.

So, if your roommate's laptop was stolen because she left the door unlocked, would you give her money towards a new one? I think not.

Your belief and logic that she give you money towards the purchase of another laptop is majorly flawed. She doesn't owe you a penny.

ladeeda6

If she entered the room last, failed to lock the door and then your computer was stolen, that's when you ask for money because it was her direct action that led to your belongings being stolen. You left the door open (regardless if she asked you to do so), it's your responsibility.

If you know that she's still not locking the door after having someone stroll into your room and stealing for you, go to your RA ASAP. That is dangerous. You already know someone (it could have very easily been a floormate) came in and took something. What's stopping them from coming in or someone else?

Put your valuable and expensive belongings away and talk to your roommate as well about locking the door. You lock the door always, to hell with her.

This is why dorms need swipe card doors that lock automatically. A lost ID card is a situation that is much easier to fix than a lost key. And, at least in my old dorm, you could register your cell number online and text the door to get it to unlock.