RSS
Home
Naive approach to violence is the wrong one
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Violence has spilled over into the far reaches of Connecticut (where we might not expect it). When adolescents and young adults leave their families to attend school dances or college functions, we owe it to their parents, to society, to keep them safe. Protecting the reputation of a school at the expense of safety is an error we can't afford to make.
Agreeably, it is impossible to foresee or ward off all tragedies like the most recent murder of 20-year old Jasper Howard who was stabbed on the University of Connecticut Campus in Storrs, CT. Yet, Michelle Gonzalez suggests otherwise, that Connecticut is, somehow, "indebted" to this young man's family in an article entitled "Howard's Family's Loss is our Failure" (10/28/09; Hartford Courant).
Howard came to UConn, hopeful, full of potential, to play football. He came from Miami, FL, from a tough neighborhood, left his sister and mother behind. He was awarded a full scholarship. At one point, he had wanted to return home, to help his family out, financially, but he stayed and made a go of it and worked hard. After a UConn sponsored dance, he was fatally stabbed on campus after someone pulled a fire alarm and he, along with 300 others students, were forced outside. A young life was tragically cut short in one brief moment. As Gonzalez stated: "We, the citizens of Connecticut [were] entrusted with the gifts of a young man who represented the hopes of a family."
Did we, as Gonzalez suggests, fail Jasper Howard and his family? What could we have done better, and what will we do now?
Perhaps, we could lose the naiveté. A fatal error is to presume that rural parts of Connecticut are immune to violence. UConn is renown for its academics, but it has also has a reputation of being a party school. The UConn Crime Report (2008) listed the following arrests for Storrs: 43 burglaries, 5 sexual assaults; 171 liquor violations; 110 DWI's; 233 drug violations; and 16 weapon violations.
Drinking, drugs, dances, combined with the mixing of young adults (on and off campus students) puts everyone at risk. To deny the partying and the conflicts on campus, in order to protect a school's reputation, is unacceptable. Howard's murder was more shocking to some because it occurred in what's referred to as the "quiet corner' of Connecticut.
Time to wake up. If we can do anything in memory of "Jazz" as he was referred to by friends, we can lose the lackadaisical attitude, tighten security at all of our schools and colleges across the state before another fatality happens. We know police presence is a good deterrent and wards off potential violence. It's about time we take our heads out of the sand, admit that police presence and increased security measures have become necessary, even in the most unlikely of places.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
