“In the wake of the school shootings at Northern Illinois Univeristy, the violent acts around our campus have become a great issue. Off-campus rapes have hurt UA’s reputation in recent months, but what the university has done to inform and aid in student safety is paramount.”
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In the wake of the school shootings at Northern Illinois Univeristy, the violent acts around our campus have become a great issue.

Off-campus rapes have hurt UA’s reputation in recent months, but what the university has done to inform and aid in student safety is paramount.

Not only do the shootings at NIU, a fellow Mid-American Conference university, make us believe that it could, unfortunately, happen here, it makes UA’s efforts to make campus safer even more important.

The problem is that it is impossible to know when shootings like this will take place and exactly why they are happening.

As UA did with the recent string of criminal activity, it must ensure students that safety measures are being taken.

UA President Louise Proenza sent out a Special Edition Zipmail when the crimes happened informing students about the precautions UA takes to continually improve campus safety.

That should, and must, only be step one in the process.

If we, as students, faculty and staff, are to feel safe in our surroundings, UA must continue its efforts.

Sending text messages and having an outdoor announcement system is important, but doing class evacuation procedures on the first day of class would help as well.

It may seem like a fire drill from elementary school, but knowing where to go is just as important is being informed.

Though stopping an attack similar to NIU and Virgina Tech is almost impossible, UA deserves recognition for its efforts in trying to create a safe environment.

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