When I talk to my friends about college they often point out the faults of the University of Illinois; Unhappy grad students, little-to-no money, corrupt(ish) administration, and a subpar football team. Although those things don’t really bother me, I often come to my alma mater’s defense and try to point out our strong points. I say to my friends: “At least it’s a safe place to live!”
According to the constant stream of Crime Alerts flooding my inbox, however, I can no longer say this with a straight face. Barely a week goes by without “two males between the ages of 18 and 22” punching someone in the face, taking his or her money and then walking eastbound. It has gotten to the point where I, a 6’1” man, am wary about walking around campus after dark. Not only because I have a chronic fear of being punched in the face, but also because I don’t want some skittish sorority girl to blow her rape whistle at me just because I fit the description.
Aside from expertly sending out mass e-mails and striking fear into the hearts of coeds, does our police force do anything? We get a barrage of these messages telling us to be on the lookout for college aged men, but never a confirmation that the “ongoing threat” has ended. Is it possible for campus police to let us know when they catch these perps? Or do they just never catch them? I would personally like to know what the campus police are doing to catch bad guys. Personally, I am getting really sick of pocket-dialing 9-1 on my cell phone every time I see a dude in a hoodie.
Andrew Schiver,
senior in LAS
