The recent murders of four students at the University of Idaho
have drawn national attention. Now eyes are on my campus, Washington State University, where the
suspect in custody also attended school.
Students
have been worried about their safety. Some are refusing to stay at their house by themselves. I was asked by multiple friends to stay the night because they were too afraid to be alone. Rightfully so. The two schools are 10 miles apart in distance, and students travel back and forth all the time. Students had no reason not to suspect their own campus, even if the administration told them not to worry. In a post on Instagram, the school responded to questions about student safety and said, “There was no active threat to the campus.”
But with all the information now released to the public, none of it included a plan on how the school and police were planning to keep us students safe. Students were told basic safety techniques such as don’t walk alone and don’t hang out with people they don’t know.
The additional problem is that we, the students, aren’t allowed to protect ourselves. Washington State University does not allow students to have a concealed carry license on campus or to keep guns in their car on campus or in dorm rooms. The university thus ignores the fundamental right of students to protect themselves. At the same time, the school is unable to provide the security needed for such a large campus.
This matters. Three out of the four students killed in Idaho were female. It’s a ratio that is not out of the ordinary. Women experience crime at a higher rate than men. This includes college campuses. Date rape, burglary, car theft, and stalking are common on college campuses. While it might not have been victim Kaylee Goncalves who had a stalker, the suspect’s affidavit states that he had been at or around her house over 12 times. He clearly exhibited stalker tendencies.
I take precautions such as changing my schedule, taking different routes to class, and only giving my location to people I trust. But college is inherently regimented, and most college students have a routine. This leaves students vulnerable to stalking and targeted violence. Cases like these remind us that students should have the opportunity to protect themselves in the way they see best whether it be pepper spray or concealed carry.
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Taylor Hunt attends Washington State University and is pursuing a degree in agricultural engineering.
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