Being a college student can be tough, especially when there are so many things to keep track of. In the process of lugging around books, computers and iPads, it could be easy to forget smaller personal belongings like keys or phones. 

Luckily, with the help of the CSUN staff members, police officers and students, there is always a possibility to be reunited with misplaced items.

The Lost and Found Department is inside the CSUN Police Department, located on the corner of Darby Avenue and Prairie Street. Coordinator of the Lost and Found Department, Astrid B. Logan, has been working with the CSUN PD for the past 10 years to ensure that students and faculty members will receive their lost items.

“Any member of the Department of Police Services, parking services, and any staff member has the authority to receive found property that’s turned into them,” Logan said.

The lost and found process is fairly simple: there is a tracking form that accompanies any item that has been turned in. It requires the returnee to fill out specific details as to where they found the item, what time it was discovered, and what the item is.

Following the return process, the items are logged into a computer system, appropriately titled ‘Returnity,’ which keeps all of the information on file.

“When you think about it, we average about 2-3,000 items per year getting turned in, so we would need a computer system like this to hold onto the information,” Logan said.

After the items hav\e been logged into the system, they are also posted on the CSUN website under A-Z ‘Lost and Found.’ This option helps students who have lost personal property to check online for a description that may match their item.

“We don’t put too much detail on the website for obvious reasons,” Logan said. “The description basically tells you that the item is here, and how long the students have to claim them.”

Once the item has been turned in, students have 90 days to pick up their item(s) from the department.

Students who are looking for lost items can inquire within the Lost and Found Department by filling out a form in person, or online, which is highly encouraged.

Students are aware (and grateful) of the department’s work.

“A friend of mine, three weeks earlier lost his keys,” said accounting major Ousmane Dioffo. “So we came here to get them and that’s how I knew there was a lost and found.” 

Dioffo who had recently lost h is keys as well, knew exactly what to do to try and get them back.

“I actually just called here before I came to check, and they told me that I could file a report right then on the phone, so I gave them my information and that was it,” Dioffo said. “I came here a couple of times and they didn’t have them yet, so I became desperate. I just received a call from Astrid this morning telling me that they had my keys. I couldn’t believe it that they did.”

All is not lost on the large campus of CSUN, and all has not been wasted either. After the 90 day pick-up period ends, the department goes through a purging process in which they diminish the items turned in, to make room for incoming items.

“Some items go to shelters, certain items go to the Valley Trauma [Counseling] Center, and clothing items will go to Goodwill,” Logan said. “The glasses I think are the best. We take our glasses that are unclaimed, any kind of glasses, and we turn them over to Lens Crafters for their glasses re-donation program. They repurpose the glasses for someone who can’t afford prescription glasses or the lenses, and this way we’ve already provided the frames for them.”

There’s a time, a place, and even a season to reclaim lost items. Logan explained that the various items turned in throughout the school year are in sync with the semester.

At the beginning of the year, the department receives a lot of cell phones, throughout the year they get keys, and at the end of the year, believe it or not, they even start getting textbooks.

Now, students can rest easy knowing that even though they may spend a few nights away from their possessions, there is always a possibility that they will get it back from the CSUN Lost and Found Department.