It should not take murders to lead the University to improve campus safety.
Two students should never have been killed Dec. 13 2007 on campus, a place many students view as their safe haven and their home.
Our students’ safety should be the No. 1 priority for our campus leaders.
Safety does not come from sending out press releases or promising more law enforcement. It comes from action. It takes reform, and it looks like the University has taken some baby steps toward a safer campus.
The University plans to test its emergency text messaging system Friday. For those not registered, please do so through your PAWS account.
The LSU Police Department has increased patrols around campus, and security cameras have been installed outside Edward Gay Apartments, the complex where the students were killed.
While this is a good start, this is not where the changes end. These initiatives are necessary, but they should be seen as just the first of the reforms our University must make to prevent another tragedy.
But don’t let it stop there.
The University needs to reconsider if the Edward Gay Apartments are even safe enough for students. Because of its location on the outskirts of campus, the University should consider building or renovating a facility for those residents closer to the campus’ core.
More lighting is also needed in the darker parts of campus. The University must make sure our police force is more vigilant near residence halls and the busier sections of campus. Developing a way to respond faster to emergencies is imperative, too.
It’s unfortunate to have to learn from mistakes.
We should mourn the deaths of Ph.D. students Chandrasekhar Redy Komma and Kiran Kumar Allam, both killed in early December at the Edward Gay Apartments. We should commend the members of the campus community, who financially and emotionally assisted the families of Komma and Allam.
But most of all, we should remember – the tragedy, the fear we felt when our University was a crime scene rather than the home we love, the way we Tigers came together to mourn our dead and help those left behind.
It is in remembering that we begin to meet our obligations, both to those we’ve lost along the way and those Tigers yet to come.
But our obligation does not end with memory alone.
University leaders must continue increasing security. The University must stand by its commitment to protecting our campus community.
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