tips for dolls in dormitories?

1. Leave your doll at home for the first few weeks
2. During those first few weeks, leave a 20 or 50 dollar bill sitting out on a dresser for a few days. Make sure it's accessible to all.
3. If it's still there after a couple of days, your doll would most likely be safe -- a roomie who doesn't steal a discreet, "useful" thing like money probably isn't going to steal an easily noticed, "useless" item like a doll.
4. Of course, if it's not there after a couple of days, then you know you have a thief somewhere in the dorm. Report it and ask the school to let you change living situations.

 

Advice for keeping a doll safe is basically the same as the advice for keeping a laptop safe; Don't leave it on show in an unlocked room, if you give it to someone to hold onto, make sure they're trustworthy, and just go with your gut.

 

One other thing to consider is that the dorms of UCD are TINY (at least, the ones I've seen were- and it's been long enough that there may well be new buildings. :P). While you can certainly put dolls on your bed, worksurfaces like desks and end tables are prime real estate and with stuffies and an AG doll too, you're not going to have much space for stuff. I wasn't into dolls when I was in school and the only semester I spent in the dorms, I had a single- but keep space in mind. I think if I were going into a situation like that today, I'd not take anything bigger than a tiny or two that could get consolidated with all their stuff to something shoebox sized.

 

To keep your doll safe I would suggest locking them in something while you are not in your dorm room. My closest can lock so I just use that, but maybe you could buy like a trunk or a little yo-sd sized box with a lock or something to store your doll and their stuff in when you leave your room. Not only does it prevent your doll from being stolen, but also protects it from damage while your not there.

 

I'd be wary of someone stealing your doll. It's almost common knowledge these days that ball jointed dolls are expensive and can be easily sold online. Keeping it locked up in a trunk would be your safest bet and I wouldn't suggest you have too many dolls with you unless you can trust your dorm buddies.

 

I remember my college dorm room being tiny -- granted it was a different school, but still it's probably best to be prepared for a worst case scenario size wise. Also when it comes to freshman roomies, it's going to be the luck of the draw as to who you're stuck with. You may get lucky, or you could get a crazy person (I got a crazy person : P).

I agree with the suggestions of having a trunk you can keep in your closet or a drawer (not sure what your storage configuration is like) -- with multiple roommates going in and out, it's easy for a door to be left open (not to mention that even if your roommates are respectful with your stuff their friends may not be) so if you have stuff you don't want messed with, it's best that it doesn't stay in plain sight when you're gone.

 

I'm a student who currently dorms, and the precaution I took my first year was to leave my doll at home before deciding whether or not my roommate could be trusted. She turned out okay, but out of concern I still ended up bringing my doll with me whenever I went home. While we were in class, it didn't matter, my doll was fine and we only had visitors at night so I didn't worry much, I always kept an eye on him...or alternatively, most visitors were too scared of my doll to even think about coming close to it.

My roommate this year is fantastic, her sister actually owns BJDs! So she knows not to fool around with them, and I trust her enough to leave my doll sitting right on my desk while I go back home for the weekend. If I'm ever feeling unsure though, there's a notch on one of my drawers that I can put a padlock on. Sometimes I store my doll in the top drawer, and naturally it works fine.

My advice to you is to get a feel for your roommate, and introduce your doll early. Instead of being aggressive and laying down ground rules, I always ask "Will he freak you out? Should I put him away?" and if the response is somewhat fearful, I'm fairly confident she won't do anything. If she turns nasty and has some sort of repugnance against dolls, I'd hide Astrophel. If she turns interested, then hey! Another potential DOA member, haha. But seriously though it just depends on how your roommate reacts and behaves. If she has a tendency to leave the door unlocked and you don't trust your suitemates, hide Astro. If she's safe and is alright, then Astro will be just fine!

 

I wouldn't. But I'm significantly more paranoid regarding my possessions than most. If something can't be easily replaced--like an emotionally-bonded doll--I keep it with me if not at home. It would only take one loss to sour me...

If anything, I'd only consider taking a tiny doll, 27 cm or smaller, which is much easier to keep portable and/or hidden. They also tend to be cheaper in general.

My sister points out that even if your roommate herself is kosher, her friends or family (who you've not met) may not be...

 

It's not your roommate I'd be worried about, but visitors to the dorm room who you don't know. And they may not want to steal the doll, because they wouldn't have any idea of its value, they may just want to mess with the doll. College dorms have pranksters, it's a well known fact. And pranks can damage things, and you'd be heartbroken if your doll was damaged because of a joke. I'd leave the BJD at home, and only take things I didn't have an emotional attachment to to the dorm room.

 

Yeah, I'd also suggest you not take it the first few weeks just so you have time to check things out, and figure out what kind of roommate you have and rooming situation. I would worry more about damage then say theft, not that theft can't and doesn't happen. But I heard more stories about people getting their stuff broken then just stolen because of carelessness. So finding out whether your roomy is the thoughtless kind or lacks respect for others personal belongings and space is a must.

 

LOCK YOUR DOOR. It's (probably) not your roommate you have to worry about; it's all the other people coming and going. It's easy to feel a sense of security when you know your roommate/hallmates and consider them friends, but it only takes a couple of seconds for someone to grab something off your desk and be gone. I lived in a high rise dorm with a security desk out front, and we still had random people in our halls on a pretty regular basis.

 

I agree that the potential for thievery and space issues are the main concerns. It's an unfortunate fact that there is quite a bit of stealing on college campuses so be very careful with your doll. And since dorm rooms do tend to be on the small side, keep that in mind when deciding what and how much doll stuff to take with you.

 

Usually most RAs are actually required to hand out a roommate agreement sheet. So if you're hesitant about laying down ground rules, you can go over things like "I will share supplies with my roommate: Y/N" or "I am okay if there are visitors while I am not present: Y/N" all on the sheet.

Remember to be careful is of primary importance!! I haven't had any problems and I weekly switch my dolls in and out, but that doesn't mean something terrible can happen on accident. Luckily my roommates last year and this year were highly respectful of my dolls and actually had the courtesy to make sure their guests didn't touch my stuff. So paranoia isn't necessary..just make sure you take lots of care in getting to know your roommate!

 

Current college student. *raises hand*
I have been somewhat lucky in that all of my room mates have cared a great deal about privacy and not touching each others things but I did keep my dolls in a box in the back of my dresser for the first few weeks with each set of room mates I have had.
I also made a point of lying to my first set of room mates, who I never grew to trust quite as much, and telling them that the dolls weren't worth a lot of money but had been given to me by a grandparent who had passed on. I was a terrible lie but it worked, neither of them ever wanted to get near the doll for fear of damaging my precious memento of my Grandmother.

 

I had my dolls in my freshman dorm room here at UGA, and while there's always a possibility for stuff in general to get stolen, I've got to say- I think the idea of dolly theft in a college dorm is completely unlikely. That's not to say impossible- but just really, really unlikely. I think since so many of us know a bunch of people who are into BJDs we think that the hobby's gone mainstream, and everyone's going to know how much these dolls are worth and want to steal them. That is simply not the case- there are a great many people who don't even know what BJD stands for let alone how much it's worth.

My advice is simple: if your bed is lofted, keep it there. My roommate didn't even know I had three dolls in our room because our beds were both lofted all the way up. In dorms, I've found that the beds are the safe zone. Usually, your roommate won't touch your bed unless you give her specific permission to. That's not to say that it's a definite thing, but most people aren't going to get into your personal space any more than they have to in those tiny rooms.

The other thing is, don't let on how much the dolls mean to you. If you get into an argument, she may try to get back at you by trashing or otherwise disposing of something you care a lot about. It's not super likely- but it's not unheard of. Even though I live off campus now, I still keep my dolls away from my roommate and don't talk about them half as much as I'd like to.

The last thing is: Don't assume anything. Don't assume that because you value something she will too- and don't assume that because you paid a lot for your doll, she's going to automatically want to steal it and sell it. Again- keep in mind that most people probably don't even know what makes these different from normal dolls, and don't let on. The less you tell her, (at least at first) the better. Assumptions like that can give people ideas that they wouldn't have otherwise had though, and no one likes to be considered a thief if there's no proof of it.

 

Keep your doll in the place that you think it's the safest place and lock the door if you're surely bring your doll with you, that's my suggestion. I heard some story about roommate's friend who had stolen doll form the owner in dormitories and sold it away. You don't know who they are and they might broke or stole your beloved doll if you not be careful. You don't know the future, so in my opinion, safety first is the best way