North Dakota State needs to adopt the concept of having lost and found trees.

Yes, a tree, those things that grow in the ground that turn into the paper, which contains information about your accounting homework you wish to neglect.

The concept is simple, let’s designate one tree on NDSU’s main campus and one on the downtown campus as Lost and Found Trees. People have already started placing their lost and found clothing items on the main campus under a tree in the courtyard between the main library and Memorial Union, and on a tree in the front of Barry Hall.

Say you lose a shoe stumbling home from a bar close in downtown Fargo, where can you look? Well, hopefully, someone put it in the tree. Say you forget your sweater in the A. Glenn Hill Center, where do you look? The LaF Tree.

Say you lose your wallet because you were absent-minded and forgot it somewhere, what do you do? Actually, you should probably go to the university police for that one. Retracing your steps wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.

These LaF Trees do not necessarily only need to be for found clothing items, they could also be for clothes you would like other people to have. That old suit coat? Bring it to the LaF Tree. Out-grown winter boots? LaF Tree. I recommend leaving any undergarments at home, though. Hershey’s chocolate isn’t reusable.

The tree can have themed items, too. Hell, on April Fool’s Day it could actually become a laugh tree where people find funny jokes.

There is a precedent with our lost and found tree, too. Neighboring school University of Minnesota has a tree located near its west bank campus in which people have placed lost shoes they have found.

Final disclaimer, if you want to add to the LaFTree, just be wary there are not any police officers nearby. They may think you’re “littering.”