It’s hard watching an entire campus and keeping thestudents safe. It’s even more difficult providing protectionfrom a parked Ford Explorer.
As SMU students enter buildings on campus, we are constantlyreminded that someone was attacked while making their way aroundcampus. What no one can quite figure out is how this continues tohappen when there is a well-trained and equipped police force oncampus.
The problem isn’t necessarily lack of staff, but more solack of effort.
How many times have students been able to walk through campusand see two white SUVs with the logo of our dear alma materemblazoned on its side parked at the flagpole?
Last we checked, no one has ever been mugged next to the lightedstadium at the Dedman College sign. Students also report seeing SMUpolice officers sitting on SMU Boulevard monitoring what appears tobe nothing.
With the latest incident, a young lady reported that a policeofficer saw her walking alone towards the sorority houses and askedher if she would hang the sign up at her house. While this cannotbe confirmed, the very presence of this rumor means that the SMUpolice are not depended upon for, nor trusted with, the safety ofthis campus.
Ed Board didn’t hear about a police officer volunteering aride or even taking the sign to the house himself. Instead, we gotword of a student being depended upon to inform an entire house. Ifthis little walking greek sister happened to forget, then theentire house would not be informed.
Now, let’s assume this story to be just what it is – arumor. That’s why it’s in an editorial and not afront-page news story.
We, as a community, now have to ask who is protecting whom andfrom what? As long as our boys and girls in uniform continue toprowl the parking lots looking for vehicles a little over theirtime or 18-year-olds with Bud on their breath, the true safety ofthis campus is in jeopardy.
It’s about priorities, and no one is asking the policeforce to let everything go in the way of parking or publicintoxication, but to set clearer priorities.
There are other lines of defense for the other offenses –let the parking officer handle parking. The residence halls canserve as the second line of defense against intoxication.
However, there is no second line of defense for a solitarystudent en route to his vehicle.
