Ariel Lopez, a Class of 2017 kinesiology major, entered Paley Library on a mission: to find laptops, cell phones or other personal items left unattended.

In no more than 10 seconds, she spotted an umbrella and a backpack, with keys resting on top of it, at a first-floor study station. She paused and looked around to see if anyone was watching. But she didn’t make off with the items, which would have been easy to do. Instead, she left a note:

“Remember: Do not leave your belongings unattended.”

As Temple students approach study days and final exams this week, high-traffic buildings on campus—including the TECH Center and Howard Gittis Student Center—are likely to be as busy as ever. Lopez and other student-workers with Campus Safety Services routinely survey these locations for personal items left on desks or chairs. They then tag the property with small, lightbulb-shaped Temple Police stickers as a reminder for students to be more mindful of their belongings.

The idea originated after a discussion in a Campus Safety Services staff meeting about how many students were leaving their items unattended. Special services coordinator Donna Gray developed the concept in 2010 and has enlisted the help of her work-study students to implement the ongoing program. According to Temple’s 2014 Security and Fire Safety Report, on-campus thefts have declined each year since 2011.

“The peer interaction and increased awareness is making a difference,” Gray said. “Theft is the most prevalent—but also the most preventable—crime on any college or university campus. The lightbulb concept reminds students to think about their safety as well as the security of their belongings.”

On a recent afternoon, Lopez and Tiara Middleton, a Class of 2017 accounting major, scanned between the stacks at Paley. Upon spotting items—on this day, an Apple laptop, wallets, a phone, backpacks, textbooks and more—they would leave a sticker and wait for the student to return.

If a student does, Lopez and Middleton identify themselves as associated with Safety Services and discuss the importance of protecting property and how quickly someone could take their items.

“We’re just trying to let you know the consequences of what can happen,” Lopez said. “We want to make students aware of situations they can reduce.”

A few minutes later, Lopez spotted an iPhone and laptop. Someone else had left a backpack and jacket at the same table. The students returned to their property at about the same time, so Lopez and Middleton approached them together.

“He said, ‘I appreciate that’ and thanked me twice,” Middleton said of her conversation with the student. “I’m like, ‘You’re welcome. That’s what we’re here for.’”

Added Lopez of her interaction: “I said, ‘I could have taken your phone.’ He said, ‘Thank goodness you didn’t.’”