It’s a sunny but *cold* Monday morning here on campus.  Over the weekend the temps were in the 30s by day and 20s at night, with a stiff wind that made it feel much, much colder.  I was talking to someone on campus this weekend from Florida who was so excited at the cold, because she’d never seen snow in real life (only on TV or in the movies) and she was so hoping to see it.  Alas, no snow.  Just cold.

I’m camped out this morning in the Green Room of Reynolda Hall, as I have a few meetings on campus and will be finding temporary homes (here now, Starbucks later) and it has been interesting to watch the students.  As of 8 am when I arrived here, there were 3 students spread out across the tables, two young women and a young man.  They all looked dressed and ready for class, but appeared to be here either studying or doing homework.  All of them had laptops or tablets at their tables.

Once, the young man got up and left the room (presumptive restroom break) and left his backpack and laptop/tablet right there on the table.  Our students are very trusting, and the vast majority of the time people here are on their honor and would not mess with other people’s things.  However, I cringed when he left something so valuable unattended, because we unfortunately do have people who step away and find their laptop gone when they return.  I spoke with a mother this summer whose daughter left her purse at the counter in the bathroom and when she stepped back out, it was gone.  Just a reminder, parents, please reinforce with your students that while 99% of the time they probably would be fine, better to be safe than sorry.  Do not leave phones, laptops, purses – or anything you’d be sorry to lose – unattended while you step away, even for just a couple of minutes. (Edited to add: one of the girls just left – laptop sitting right there.)

We’ve been joined by another student, and it is the same drill – open laptop, busy reading.  The Green Room is nice and quiet, and with the sun shining through the windows to the South, it feels warm and cozy here.  No wonder all the students like it so much.

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