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I would second this suspicion. Laptop/smartphone theft is also big, or at least it is at Harvard – apparently there are groups of professionals who go through the labs/buildings with offices and relieve us of laptops not locked down. My lab hasn’t been hit, but we’re very careful about keeping the office door locked.</p>
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The dorms are ID-card-access-only. Occasionally someone will manage to slip through, which is why it’s good practice to keep the door to one’s room locked, but theft from dorms rooms is relatively rare. </p>
<p>Ultimately, MIT is in a major American city. It’s not a particularly dangerous American city overall, as lidusha notes, but it’s wise to keep your valuables behind a locked door. When things like laptops or cell phones are stolen, it’s almost always because someone has left them out in a lounge/conference room/student center table and walked away.</p>
<p>Interestingly, in my ten years in Boston, Central Square (the major square just north of MIT) has gotten markedly safer, and Harvard Square (near Harvard, obviously) has seen more muggings, which is the opposite of what was true when collegealum and I were in school. Still, Cambridge is very safe for students, and you’ll be fine if you use common sense: don’t wear headphones or be otherwise distracted when you’re walking alone at night, walk with a friend if you can, stick to the better-lit major streets at night.</p>