Keep us safe by keeping us informed
Editorial Board
Issue date: 5/22/09 Section: Ed-Op
If you've been on campus during the past week, you might have heard that an armed gunman ran into the library, or that a robber stole chicken wings from the quickie mart. Whichever variation of the story you've heard, chances are it's not true.
When rampant gossip and worried phone calls from parents as they see our school on the evening news are our first source of information, we know there is a problem. While we understand that ongoing crimes have to be investigated and must have a certain level of secrecy, as paying members of the Drexel community we have a right to know what's going on around us and how safe we really are.
For all the administration's talk about the increased safety on campus, incidents like this show us that we are still at risk. We don't blame Drexel for the crime; we blame the criminal for that. But during the incident, or at least during the aftermath of the incident, the administration should have sent a mass text message out to us, or at least a campus-wide e-mail. To think that the University believes that swine flu warrants a multitude of warning e-mails, but an armed gunman in our library does not, is an outrage.
The University deemed that this event was not alarming enough to send out a text via the DrexelAlert system. However, think about how many people you have heard since that day blow this story out of proportion, to the point of claims that there was a hostage situation. If a text was sent out to inform students that there was no need to be concerned, it might have dispelled fears on the spot.
The Drexel Police Force is a big undertaking by the administration, and unfortunately, when the student body is not warned or informed in a timely manner, it reflects badly on the University's safety measures. Even though Drexel safety officials reported there was an orderly escort of students out of the library and no one was hurt, many students' perceptions of the officers may now be tainted because they did not clearly communicate all the facts of the situation.
Even if the suspect did not stay in the library, being in the area could also be a concern. Students are on campus everywhere around the library, and what's to say the suspect could not have attacked someone in the vicinity? Moreover, perhaps students could have helped in the search for the second suspect if a DrexelAlert was issued with the suspect's description, since individuals would be aware and on the lookout.
We appreciate Drexel's hesitance to overuse the text message alert system, but it's not everyday that something like this happens in the middle of campus. What's done is done, but we hope that in the future Drexel will err on the side of caution and actually utilize the systems they have in place for such situations.
When rampant gossip and worried phone calls from parents as they see our school on the evening news are our first source of information, we know there is a problem. While we understand that ongoing crimes have to be investigated and must have a certain level of secrecy, as paying members of the Drexel community we have a right to know what's going on around us and how safe we really are.
For all the administration's talk about the increased safety on campus, incidents like this show us that we are still at risk. We don't blame Drexel for the crime; we blame the criminal for that. But during the incident, or at least during the aftermath of the incident, the administration should have sent a mass text message out to us, or at least a campus-wide e-mail. To think that the University believes that swine flu warrants a multitude of warning e-mails, but an armed gunman in our library does not, is an outrage.
The University deemed that this event was not alarming enough to send out a text via the DrexelAlert system. However, think about how many people you have heard since that day blow this story out of proportion, to the point of claims that there was a hostage situation. If a text was sent out to inform students that there was no need to be concerned, it might have dispelled fears on the spot.
The Drexel Police Force is a big undertaking by the administration, and unfortunately, when the student body is not warned or informed in a timely manner, it reflects badly on the University's safety measures. Even though Drexel safety officials reported there was an orderly escort of students out of the library and no one was hurt, many students' perceptions of the officers may now be tainted because they did not clearly communicate all the facts of the situation.
Even if the suspect did not stay in the library, being in the area could also be a concern. Students are on campus everywhere around the library, and what's to say the suspect could not have attacked someone in the vicinity? Moreover, perhaps students could have helped in the search for the second suspect if a DrexelAlert was issued with the suspect's description, since individuals would be aware and on the lookout.
We appreciate Drexel's hesitance to overuse the text message alert system, but it's not everyday that something like this happens in the middle of campus. What's done is done, but we hope that in the future Drexel will err on the side of caution and actually utilize the systems they have in place for such situations.
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Harry Caray
posted 5/27/09 @ 1:29 PM EST
"To think that the University believes that swine flu warrants a multitude of warning e-mails, but an armed gunman in our library does not, is an outrage. (Continued…)
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