“A recent editorial was printed in the Akron Beacon Journal entitled Security Alarm. The editorial simply stated that with recent incidents on and around the Kent campus, notice should be taken that safety become a top priority. In a following issue of the Akron Beacon Journal, the Vice President of University Relations at Kent State University, Iris E.”
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A recent editorial was printed in the Akron Beacon Journal entitled Security Alarm. The editorial simply stated that with recent incidents on and around the Kent campus, notice should be taken that safety become a top priority.

In a following issue of the Akron Beacon Journal, the Vice President of University Relations at Kent State University, Iris E. Harvey, replied with an over the top response to the simple statement.

Such thinking polarizes communities, Harvey wrote.

But Harvey’s statement clearly polarizes communities far more than the original comments may have.

The article does not mention safety at the University of Akron at all, but the response repeatedly mentions Akron crime statistics and associates Akron with Kent crimes.

Within the response, Harvey repeatedly points fingers at Akron, tying in the crimes mentioned to Akron and the University of Akron.

We hope that in the future the Akron Beacon Journal will take the initiative to report about our safety measures accurately without omission of facts that clearly implicate people residing in Akron, Harvey stated.

While it is true that these crimes may have included people that reside in Akron, the crimes did not happen in Akron; they happened in Kent.

Harvey continues to compare the crime rates of Akron and Kent according to FBI Uniform Crime statistics.

It is true that Kent has less crime than Akron. But Akron is much larger than Kent in total area, so it would make sense if a greater crime rate reflected this difference in size.

Crimes happen and it is a fact that they have happened in both communities and near both Akron and Kent State University campuses.

Both Kent and Akron area crime have been previously reported in the Akron Beacon Journal, neither more than the other.

It makes sense to compare the crime rates of Kent to those of another similar place and to state what is now being done by campus officials and police to refute the opinion of an editorial and bolster the opinion of safety on the campus.

To bring Akron into a situation that originally praises Kent State University and its top-notch programs only polarizes the two communities and pits them against each other even more than they already are.

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