Occasionally on campus, one may hear someone speaking about the “Hillsdale Bubble.” This is referring to the semi-mythical effect that a sequestered campus miles from a major city has on how the student body sees politics, religion, and culture. That Bubble was popped last Wednesday when police escorted a man out of the Mossey Library for stalking a female student. This incident marked the second time he had been on campus, as well as the second time he had managed to get inside the library. While we may all breathe a sigh of relief that no one was hurt and the threat removed, a subsequent conversation on Yik Yak has shown that the Hillsdale Bubble doesn’t stop at politics — it extends to the security of students as well.
Some involved in the discussion on Yik Yak suggested increased security measures through the use of door ID-locks like the ones on the doors of Lane, Kendall, and the Grewcock Student Union. However, those who disagreed stated something that ought to be found disturbing. Their mindset is that “it was just an isolated incident.”
There is truth to what one Yakker said. Hillsdale is nowhere near the cities and is so isolated that incidents would be rare at best. However, the point of the matter is not the rate of occurrence but the scale. While the man was caught the second time he came to campus, he managed to get in and out without being detained the first time. This cannot be overstated: Someone was able to invade our school and escape.
While a hypothetical is not evidence, it is food for thought, and we must wonder what would have happened if the man’s intent that first time had not merely been to stalk. Student lives could have been taken, and that is unacceptable. While not all tragedies can be prevented, there are measures that could and should be taken, but currently are not. Whether this is merely an oversight being raised for the first time or something being blithely ignored cannot be determined, but now is the time to act.
Dorms, Central Hall, the sports buildings, and the Mossey Library all lack the ID scanners with which Lane, Kendall, and Grewcock are equipped. This status quo risks an incident like what happened on Wednesday occurring. Is it really worth student lives to continue on our present course and spare ourselves the fiscal cost? Everything has a price, after all, and this one would be in blood.
Every day we sit on our hands and pretend this won’t happen again, we play a cosmic dice game. All it takes is one bad roll for someone to die. Lives are precious, infinitely so; even if we shut our eyes and nothing bad happens to us in the near future, can we live with the responsibility that it would be our fault if someone down the line pays for our shortsightedness?
