The white 13” Macbook laptop, valued at $1,199 was stolen on Jan. 19.
Anderson, who never locks his office door, left the laptop sitting out on his desk as he normally does on school days. He spoke with transfer student Emily Holmes just before heading to meet with another professor. Between 2:05 p.m., when both he and Holmes saw the computer, and 2:55 p.m., when he returned, the laptop vanished.
Holmes states that as she left the Academic Center, she spotted a tall, thin, African American male, about 6’2”, wearing a baseball cap and striped shirt peer into Dr. Anderson’s office and open the door.
Professor Jim Hills, whose office is just across the hall, spotted the same individual in the Academic Center. He thought he must have been a new student, as he didn’t recognize him.
Another student saw the man trying to get into Aagard, which she found peculiar since a Corban student would know that Aagard is locked.
While Anderson laments the loss of his laptop, he is enthused that, most likely, a Corban student is not the culprit.
“That would have destroyed our atmosphere,” he said.
Anderson reported the incident immediately to Randy Corey, head of campus security, and filed a report with the police, who plan to look out for the stolen laptop in local pawn shops.
While Anderson is certainly not happy that his laptop is missing, he expresses the importance of viewing the incident with a Christian worldview.
“We have such a wonderful Christian atmosphere,” he said. “But we can’t forget we live in a fallen world …We have to be wise with our possessions, but not succumb to fear.”
On the bright side, Anderson has received overwhelming support from the Corban community. When his laptop was stolen, an e-mail was sent out to all the faculty.
“Within 2 hours I had about 20 e-mails,” said Anderson. “So many people have been coming up and continue to ask about it.”
In addition to sympathetic inquirers, an anonymous donor posted a $100 reward for any information leading to the return of the laptop. Anderson stated that administrators may decide to install security cameras in the bottom floor of the Academic Center.
Dr. Anderson’s insurance policy will partially the cost of the stolen laptop, and Corban’s insurance will cover the rest. Sadly, there is no way to replace the numerous family pictures and hours of grading it contained.