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Anyone that has been awake and paying attention in the last few weeks has undoubtedly received numerous e-mails or text messages, or heard whispers about the increased crime rates on campus.
The school year has barely gotten off the ground and already there have been multiple robberies, a gang style assault and an alleged sexual assault in broad daylight. Regardless of the fact that the sexual assault allegation couldn’t be corroborated in the end, the fact that the story was believable points to the fact that campus is quickly becoming comparable to Compton.
While everyone is running around scared of what the next e-mail or text alert will say, it seems that we have all forgotten how great it is that we are even getting these messages. Starting about three years ago, the university began to put the crime update and UofL Alert systems into effect. Prior to that, the majority of these incidents went unnoticed and unreported, except in the most extreme of circumstances. At least now we have the benefit of knowing about the atrocities that befall our student body.
It has been said that ignorance is bliss, but ignorance can be deadly if it relates to public safety. To continue with antiquated idioms, “all that evil needs to prosper is for good men to sit by and do nothing.” If we know nothing, we can do nothing. Through the efforts of university officials and the University of Louisville Department of Public Safety, students and faculty alike have an added protection that only knowledge can bring.
In 2007, students at Virginia Tech did not have this protection. The VT administration has been criticized heavily for not notifying students and faculty about the armed gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, and his murders, on the morning of April 16. Cho was able to kill two students in a dorm room, leave campus and return around two hours later, only to continue his killing spree. During this period, no alerts were released to the faculty or the student body.
This is an extreme example, but the point remains: having this system of alerts and updates increases student safety. Still, many students have complained that the alerts are annoying and cumbersome, as they tend to quickly fill up an inbox. These alerts give students and faculty an opportunity to actively participate in their own security, and should be seen as an useful and necessary tool – not merely an annoyance. An increase in criminal activity shows that people are losing hope in this economy. It is quickly becoming apparent that, more and more, we need all the help we can get.
