Imagine that you are on campus walking to the student center to meet up with some friends before going to class. On your way to the student center, you witness cops putting a student in handcuffs in the back of a squad car. You are confused and wondering what exactly could have caused this predicament to happen on campus. But the cops seem to have the situation under control, so you go on about your business. This is a situation many faced on March 4, and there is a huge problem with it.

I believe that the University must take all precautions to make students aware if such a situation occurs on our campus as soon as possible. This situation ended in a way that was peaceful. But, it is entirely unacceptable that the university did not alert students until almost 24 hours later that such a situation took place on our campus. Chief of Police, Patrick Coggins said that he felt it was unnecessary to send out an alert to students and personnel on campus because it was determined to not be threatening.

However, I disagree with his decision. There is no telling how this situation or any other situation of this demeanor will end in the future. It is a shame that Mr. Coggins does not feel the need to keep students informed on such atypical events, such as the arrest of suspicious individuals on campus. In the future I hope the campus Police Department and the University is as proactive in letting students know about situations on campus as I am proactive in making sure my tuition is taken care of.