Students, faculty and whoever happens to walk by will have the opportunity to prepare for this year’s holiday season by shopping at the campus Lost and Found Sale, beginning Dec. 10-15.
Campus Connection, which is in charge of the lost and found on campus, is cleaning out its cupboards full of unclaimed items, all waiting to be displayed. The sale will consist of a variety of objects from water bottles to jewelry, clothing to books, and even a computer will be sold.
“It’s just to get cheap stuff,” said Dawn Burgess, manager of Campus Connection. “Some peoples’ junk is other peoples’ treasures. It’s just a big yard sale.”
For some, the announcement of the Lost and Found Sale had a surprising impact. Robbin Anthony, professor at UVU, found the sale to be a bit unsettling. Items that students and faculty have lost may be important and expensive, and some may wonder why the items are still there.
The campus lost and found policy states lost items can be claimed up to 96 days after they are turned in. After this 96-day period, Campus Connection is no longer required to keep them.
The December sale will contain items that were turned in prior to Sept. 10.
“Obviously the most interesting and valuable items go first so it would be wise for potential buyers to go early,” Anthony said.
At one of the past sales, employees sold a coat valued at $200 for $25. According to Burgess, items rarely go above $100 for any one object. Some of the items are even available to haggle over.
“We try to keep [the prices] really low … because we want to get rid of [the items],” Burgess said.
The majority of the profits from the sale will go toward helping alleviate the costs from the Student Center; however, no concrete plans for the funds have been made.
The main priority of the lost and found is to return lost items to their original owners.
“We want people to know that we are here,” Burgess said. “If they know we’re here, hopefully they’ll come get their belongings.”
Employees at Campus Connection strive to return belongings to their owners. If there is any contact information on the item, they make every attempt to return it.
“We do try,” Burgess said. “We don’t always succeed, but we do try.”
If someone attempts to claim one of the items for sale as their lost possession, they must first prove that it is theirs, according to Burgess.
Campus Connection requires a decent description of the item, date when it was lost and a password to open the item if it is password protected, like an iPad or another electronic device.
“If they can’t prove it is theirs, it is going to be sold,” Burgess said.
All remaining items that are not sold will either be donated to Deseret Industries or sold via eBay or Amazon. Other items may be thrown away.
