The events of the last two weeks have led the students of this rural, collegiate community to believe we are no longer immune to the outside world of violence. Although these acts were frightening, it was calming to hear the President, Ray Thrower and the St. Peter Police Department state how rare these occurrences were. In fact, assaults on campus have not happened for over seven years. Unfortunately, this is a false reassurance.

This year alone the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) has received 13 calls, and these are only the reported cases.  Because of confidentiality purposes, these reports do not make front page stories. What does this tell us? GAC is obviously not the small utopian community it appears to be. Last week my roommate had his laptop stolen, ironically, while he attended the Chapel forum; five close friends of mine had iPods or phones stolen this year; my car was hit by a drunk driver in the Norelius parking lot. This does not mean GAC is a bad place. It just means we’re normal.

So how do we ensure long- term safety? Better lighting by the Arb? Great. More security cameras? Even better. I’ve noticed more and more people being conscious about walking in pairs. Some are taking self-defense classes. However, the heightened awareness will soon phase out as our lives progress.

Let’s show our support to the victims by not forgetting. Let’s continue to support our fellow Gusties by being aware.  Do not become complacent with our words. Do not be complacent with how we treat one another.  Do not forget how that weekend touched us all. If we have learned anything, it is that we are not immune. Most of all, we have learned that an entire campus community is willing to heal those in need.

Wes Jones ‘11