Today the Dartmouth campus police had to search the college because of "non-specific" threats. Apparently they were posted on the girls bathroom. This is yet another case of college violence recently. And so this makes me wonder two things. First, how are these acts of violence being allowed to take place? You'd think that schools would have well trained security. But apparently not. Yale just allowed students to put locks on their dorm doors because they didn't feel protected by their campus security, and a family is now suing the College of New Jersey after their student was killed on the campus in 2006. The college has been accused of 25 counts of negligence to security issues. This is portraying an obvious lack in the amount and quality of college campus security, which leads me to my next question. What is college now becoming? After all of this, I must admit I've become a little skeptical about going to college. Leaving high school and gaining that little bit of freedom is supposed to be a profound point in young people's lives, yet now college is being portrayed as a fearful experience. We shouldn't have to fear for our lives and safety in order to take the next step in our lives.
I blame this epidemic on two things. First, the governments, whether national or local. If a government would regulate more strict security guidelines and enforce having id's to gain campus access a lot of lives would be saved. For instance, the shooting at Northern Illinois was done by a man who wasn't a student at the school, and he had hidden his weapons in a theater a week before. If there would've been more strict guidelines in place it is likely this man never would've gained access to the campus, saving the lives of seven people.
Secondly, however, I think we need to blame our media. The media is giving substantial attention to all of these violent actions. By stringing these events through out the country more violence is being caused. People are now doing it just for the attention. It's become and out of control epidemic.
Just wanted to put my two sense in on this extreme problem.
What is college becoming?
By vern - Posted on March 4th, 2008
I think that the few news worthy violent activities are rare exceptions, and in proportion to the millions of university students, it's not all that bad. We face dangers in high school, and in the rest of the world, so I don't know if things are really disproportionately unsafe at colleges now.
Another example of what you were talking about, by the way, is that at the U of A earlier this year, a student took a knife to their roommate and killed her. It was quite the ordeal here in Tucson.
the problem is that these cases WERE rare, but with all of the attention they are now getting they are becoming more common. You now here about a college being put on lock down or shot up almost daily. And nothing is really being done.
and as for your example...you are simply enforcing what I'm trying to say...it is a big deal. This totally contradicts what you said above your example.
I think part of the problem is not enough people are allowed to conceal-carry. I thought the shooter at Northern Illinois was working with a professor in the social science department? Anyway, if people had conceal-carry on the campus, then maybe a lot of lives would have been saved, but though students may have a conceal-carry liscense, they aren't allowed to do so on campus.
The shooter at Northern Illinois was a former student...and conceal carrying could help curb the problem, on the other hand it could be like giving them permission to engage in such violence...and frankly, it's a risk that we can't afford to take when lives are at stake
The shooter at Northern Illinois was a former student...and conceal carrying could help curb the problem, on the other hand it could be like giving them permission to engage in such violence...and frankly, it's a risk that we can't afford to take when lives are at stake
I'm pretty sure that college campuses are far more safe than urban homes...