He's got a gun!!! He's got a knife!!! Call 9-1-1! People stampeding all over the place. The screams, shouting and ruckous is going in every direction. Blood spattering, bodies falling! Sirens sounding!! The words of vulgar language and expression can be heard miles away. This is what it is like when a mass shooter or major crime strikes a college campus. This is the part of college reality that students, faculty and parents dread in America.
Parents often worry about their kids when sending them off to school and being away from home. They have every reason to be. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students. Alcohol related deaths, illnesses of some sort are also high in numbers. The worst call any parent can ever get is that their child isn't coming home anymore.
University & City Police have had their hands full with safety. Still, some things can't be prevented. Isolated incidents among students are often hard to prevent and detect before tragedy strikes.
Two University of Connecticut football players were stabbed recently, after a fight broke out between groups. Jasper Howard, pictured above, died from his wound to the stomach. The other sad part about this story is, Howard was expecting to be a father. He had a career-high eleven tackles the same day against Louisville in a homecoming victory. Police are still looking for a suspect.
A female University California Los Angeles student survived a multiple stabbing by a fellow classmate in a chemistry lab on campus October 8, 2009. 20-year old Damon Thompson was arrested in this case and held on bail. Thompson was no stranger to the Dean of Student Affairs office. The Dean of Students department for any university are known to hand down disciplinary action for students who have violated university rules or committed infractions.
In September 2009, Jasmine Lynn pictured left, was killed by a stray bullet after a fight broke out on the Clark-Atlanta University campus. Lynn was a student from neighboring Spelman. She was walking back to campus with friends when this tragic occurred. Another Clark-Atlanta student was struck in the wrist. One person has been arrested in this incident by Atlanta, G.A. police and being held.
Raymond Clark is being held in a maximum security prison for the murder of Yale University classmate Annie Le. They both worked together in a Yale lab. She was strangled to death and body stuffed into a wall. Text messages between Clark and Le showed the two arranging to meet up the day she disappeared. Le's body was found the day she supposed to have gotten married.
The Spelman, Harvard, Yale and UCLA Universities of this country are what many consider your "A" list schools. It goes to show, it doesn't matter where you are at, violence strikes anywhere and at anytime. CNN had reported that their is a war against women on college campuses. I think it's more of a war against students period.
Police officials should always be prepared while on duty and beef up patrols. Students, faculty and staff need to constantly be attentive, vigilant, alert and ready to react to the up most sign of danger. Parents, before your child leaves home always tell them, "I love you". Teach safety first and stay in tuned with academic affairs and activities much as possible. We can't also forget to "pray".
