By: Lindsey Hudson

Many students on campus complain about the campus mail, the crime alerts and other notifications that are sent automatically to our emails. How are we supposed to feel, then, when a crime takes place on campus and we aren’t alerted? Why, now, does the University choose to keep quiet?

I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that most students did not hear about the body of a former student at The University of Akron that was found in the Infocision Stadium on Oct. 22 at 10 a.m. The news of the story has mostly been spread through word of mouth instead of through official release.

The problem that I find in this situation is the lack of respect for the former student and his family. Not only did The University of Akron keep the news of the alleged suicide a secret, but sweeping the event under the rug raises the question of whether the crime scene was examined thoroughly, or if it was treated as a crime scene at all.

Instead of taking time to inspect the scene of a speculated suicide, the Zips game was held as scheduled, as if nothing had happened. Anyone else see something wrong with this?

As a current student, this situation raises a question in my mind about the care and commitment to students that The University of Akron claims to have. The victim was a former student and was not given the proper respect that UA claims to have for their students, faculty and alumni. The University of Akron has become such a business that they cannot even bare to reschedule a game out of respect for a deceased former student. Instead, they handed out bobble heads to game attendees as if there was never glitch in their schedule.

One of my biggest fears is that the amount of crime, injury and death circulating our campus has led the University to think that its students have become callused to death, that we would rather attend a football game than show respect to a suicide victim and his family. The game should have been postponed and a statement should have been made to game attendees, students and to the public, with reference to where they could find further information relating to the case.

Even now, over a week later, there is still little information to be found on campus and online about the unfortunate situation. This leads me to wonder why the University is choosing to stay quiet. Why is there nothing to be said now?

If anything, out of respect for a former student and fellow human being, the truth should be released and The University of Akron should be aware that they have made themselves look heartless and incompetent. Maybe now is the time that we should ask ourselves one question: If I died today, would The University of Akron care?