Staff Editorial

“During the week of Jan. 28, 2013, there were two separate shootings within a mile of Xavier’s campus.

Despite the fact that shots could be heard from campus
and students requested information, the Xavier Administration never communicated to students, faculty or
staff regarding these incidents. Though it may not be an imminent threat to those on campus, the more information provided to the Xavier Community, the safer we can be.”
This is the fi rst paragraph of a petition submitted on
Change.org by the current SGA Executives.

The petition has been signed by over 600 students, faculty and parents to date. When you get a chance, go sign the petition. Here at the Newswire, we wholeheartedly support what the petition asks of the Xavier Administration.

Admins: listen up. Here’s the deal; we understand entirely that you would prefer the students, faculty and staff not to fl ip-out every single time a crime occurs within a one-mile radius of campus. We know Xavier is in an urban area; we are well aware of the crime that sometimes occurs in these cities and if we didn’t it’s our own fault. Why? Each of us signed up for this when we decided to go to school, teach or work at Xavier. We understood the risks involving the urban location of our school. So please, don’t spare us the shock. When a person (or two) gets shot near campus, it might be a good idea say something, anything, about it. If it’s not XU Alert Me, then fi nd another option. A text saying, “FYI, shooting at Montgomery & Clarion 10 min ago. Stay away” is better than nothing. Hell, even something like
“Same stuff, different day. Shooting .3mi from campus”

is better than nothing. We could come up with sayings for
the format of these automated texts all day, but
that won’t do any good unless our administration decides to inform us, offi cially, of what we can already hear on campus. Hearing shots fi red on campus is code for duck and cover. But at Xavier, all you have to do is check your phone. If no alert comes in, then you’re in the clear. It’s a terrible strategy, Xavier. Get it together.