Now that spring break is over and the end of the semester approaches, Carolyn Alvarez hopes people on campus will do one thing € return everything they have stolen from the Student Union.

"Please bring our silverware," pleads Alvarez, Student Union dining services supervisor.

Alvarez said the Student Union spends about $6,000 a year replacing utensils, including costs for those that are lost, thrown away or destroyed.

Microbiology sophomore John Tongate admitted he had taken things from the Student Union.

"Mostly spoons," he said. "I still have about three. I'd probably return them if they were losing money."

Creative writing freshman Timothy Van Vlack says he also relieved the Student Union of one of its spoons. "I stole one once because I bought ice cream and then left," he said.

Silverware is the most popular stolen item, Alvarez said, but trays, cups and mugs also appear to be on students' hit lists.

Alvarez said she has not noticed a pattern of thefts of particular utensils. And students are not the only culprits. Professors have often walked out with coffee mugs, Alvarez said.

"They'll come in and get a cup of coffee and then just walk away."

While silverware is bought cheaply and in large quantities, other items are more costly. Trays, she said, cost $7 each.

Most students return stolen items toward the end of the semester, she said, but some occasionally return things they packed for storage at the end of the year.

"Now and then we even get things through the mail," she said. "One time we got this spoon, and it was ancient. We didn't have that kind anymore."

Returning stolen items is easy, Alvarez said. "They can just come in and put it on a tray," she said. "Nobody will know."

The Student Union accepts anything people wish to return, she said, and will even send someone to pick items up.

"It's worth it to us," she said. "I don't care. We aren't going to get upset about it."