DPS to Hold Auction With Lost and Found Items for University’s General Fund

By Stephen Fasulo II

The Department of Public Safety is holding an auction to help supplement the Catholic University General Fund. The annual event is a cash-only silent auction that will happen on April 29th. The auction will be selling items that have been lost for more than 90 days after being turned in to the Department of Public Safety.

The university said the General Fund “supports the university’s day to day operations which include paying for administrative and general operating expenses.”

The auction will begin at 1 pm, after a two hour viewing session, and the objects are as follows: Assorted small tools & protective eye wear, assorted wallets- men’s and women’s, assorted backpacks, women’s handbags, watches, rings, assorted bracelets, assorted earrings, assorted iPod’s & MP3 players, headphones, earbuds, a camera, recorders, calculators, a radio, assorted sunglasses, assorted men’s and women’s bicycles and a skateboard.

“Items turned into public safety as lost, found or abandoned are placed in storage,” said Cheryl Pendergast, the Associate Director of DPS in a statement. “After 90 days all unclaimed property is eligible to be auctioned. Auctions are held during the spring of the year. The campus community is invited to participate in this annual event. All proceeds from the auction go into the CUA general fund.”

“I think it’s a good enough way to clear out the lost and found,” said Thomas Doyle, a sophomore politics major. “Ninety days seems like a decent timeframe, and I think it’ll be a good way for students to get cheap goods, but I think it’ll bring in a negligible amount of money.”

“I saw the email the other day,” said Sean Van Gieson, a senior theology major. “I would say that the auction is a generally good thing, because these items haven’t been claimed by their owners. The opportunity is to give students a chance to buy things they need and to be able to give back to the school, and I think it’s a good thing we’re telling the students about this auction. But seeing as they’re targeting college students I don’t think the event will make much money.”

“I went last year,” said Aidan Byrnes, a sophomore. “I lose things all the time and I’ll go to DPS and just be able to find the things I’ve lost. I think if people don’t know about the lost and found, this is a great idea, and I think a 90 day time limit is reasonable amount of time. I don’t think this event will bring in much money.”

“It makes sense the money goes to the general fund. I think the auction is a good idea, because it saves a lot of space, and it gives people a motive to keep an eye on the lost and found, and on their things. It gives an opportunity to get rid of things that have been in the lost and found for five or ten years,” said Jamie Ascenzo, a senior philosophy major.

“I have my eye on a bicycle.” Said Doyle. “If it’s cheap, that’s a bonus.”