A string of thefts occurred on the University of Minnesota campus last week, but police don’t think they’re related.

Third-year law student Jie-Hye Lee said her laptop and textbook were stolen May 21 from the Mondale Hall library when she went to the bathroom.

“It was like five minutes,” Lee said. “I don’t know whether it was a law student or whether it was a person outside.”

The officer who responded to Lee’s call found a plastic bag with clothes in it and a cardboard panhandling sign in the library, according to the police report.

Lee said she bought a new laptop the same day because she needs it for class.

“I think it’s always important to store your documents” on a USB drive or cloud service, Lee said, so they’re safe even if the computer isn’t.

Another laptop was stolen May 22 from an unlocked office in Nils Hasselmo Hall, according to a police report.

“Sometimes we have spurts [of thefts],” said University police Deputy Chief Chuck Miner, “but it generally isn’t timed so much at the end of the year.”

A bike rack was noticed missing May 21 from outside the University’s Fleet Services Building on 29th Avenue, according to a police report.

“That’s the only time I’ve heard of that happening,” Miner said, adding that stealing an entire bike rack probably would have required more than one person.

Miner said the laptop and bike rack thefts probably aren’t related because the stolen items are so different.

“When we see a trend, it’s usually people stealing the same type of thing,” he said. “I don’t know if these two would be tied together.”

Minor consumption

Eight people were cited for minor consumption early in the morning May 22 when officers saw a fight outside Starbucks Coffee near The Commons Hotel.

One man was standing over another and holding a chair, Miner said. The group told police they were friends and weren’t seriously fighting.

“Sometimes it’s actual fighting,” Miner said. “In any event, the officers did the right thing.”

Disorderly conduct

University police booked a man May 21 for disorderly conduct, according to a police report.

The man, who is not affiliated with the University, was allegedly shouting obscenities at Facilities Management workers from the second floor of Kenneth H. Keller Hall, the report said.

The man may have gotten into Keller Hall through doors that FM propped open for cleaning, it said.

When an FM supervisor asked if there was a problem, the suspect allegedly challenged him to a fight. He was booked at Hennepin County Jail.