When Bridget Kratz answered her phone, a two-minute conversation cost her over six months of work.

On Feb. 20 at approximately 3:45 p.m., Kratz, an economics senior, had her laptop stolen from the Monroe Library.

Kratz was writing her honors thesis, a graduation requirement for students enrolled in the honors program, when her laptop was stolen.

“I’d been working on my thesis since September,” Kratz said. “To start from scratch at this point is very disheartening.”

According to Kratz, she was working on the third floor of the Monroe Library during a break between classes, as she does every Wednesday, when her phone rang.

“Honestly, I leave my stuff to answer my phone all the time. I feel like that’s pretty common with Loyola students,” she said. “I walked into the stairwell to answer the phone and had a conversation.”

When she returned, she found everything except for her laptop.

“It kind of feels like they must have watched me go,” Kratz said. “It was literally a two minute phone call, I wasn’t hanging out chatting.”

Kratz isn’t alone. Already in the spring 2013 semester, eight cases of lost or stolen items have been reported to LUPD.

Lieutenant Angela Honora of LUPD said that laptop thefts are common on campus due to students leaving their laptops unattended for an extended amount of time.

“When students feel safe and comfortable, they will leave their items unattended not realizing that all the persons in that area may not be trustworthy,” Honora said.

After losing her laptop, Kratz no longer feels as safe and comfortable as she once did.

“It makes me sad that Loyola is the kind of campus where that kind of thing can happen,” Kratz said. “You want to think that you know everybody here and that you can trust people, but you can’t really. Maybe this is what the real world is like.”

Though Kratz is currently working out a way to graduate in the honors program with the help of the honors faculty, she thinks it may be too late.

“I know they do extensions, but I don’t want to be working on it through the summer,” Kratz said. “I’m honestly thinking about dropping out of the honors program.”

LUPD hasn’t given up on finding the missing laptop though. Honora said that once an item is reported stolen an officer is assigned to check the area to see if anyone saw anything and look through any nearby camera footage if it is available. Honora said LUPD has recovered stolen laptops before.

Kratz isn’t holding out hope that the computer will be returned, but she hopes her story will reach whoever stole her laptop and inspire some sympathy.

“They can have my computer if they need it that badly,” Kratz said. “Please just email me my thesis.

Sam Winstrom can be reached at [email protected]