Uncashed checks, cell phones and hamsters may not seem easily forgettable. But Imogen Hinds, associate director for housing operations, has found these and more within the walls of the Row houses after the students have left.

“The hamster was very cute,” Hinds said. “Students left it in a hallway of a residence one year along with many other items, including trash bags. Fortunately, a custodial staff member realized that the cage was about to be thrown away and had a hamster in it.”

Hinds said that the custodians have also found clothing, toiletries, retainers, passports, checkbooks, school supplies, printers, computer monitors, answering machines, photo albums, and old fraternity yearbooks.

“One year we found bird seed and bird feathers, but no bird,” she said.

Many students forget to do a final sweep of their rooms as they leave, forgetting important items that housing operations must clear out quickly.

“Since we are cleaning the rooms to ready them for either summer-session students or conferences in a very short time, the process of removal is sometimes over a couple of hours,” she said.

When housing services find forgotten items that appear to be of value, they bag and tag the item and store it in the lost and found area for 90 days. If no one comes to claim it and there is no identified owner, it is donated to charity. If the item has significant personal value and it is clear who the owner is, such as a passport, housing services will contact the person to inform them that it is being held in lost and found.

“If a student can identify their property and we have it, we can return it,” Hinds said. “If we end up needing to store the property for a while, the student might need to pay a storage fee for the item.”

Hinds said that some people have been found rooting through the trash areas at the end of the school year to see what has been left behind, but the campus police strictly monitor these areas and have arrested people for dumpster diving.

Housing operations does all it can to return property to its rightful owners.

“Because it is the end of the school year, we are always concerned about getting things back to students if they have left something behind,” said Rodger Whitney, executive director of student housing. “Students can contact the Housing Service Center if they feel they have forgotten an item in their room.”

The Housing Service Center is open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. all summer long.