DeKalb. What’s the first thing that comes into your mind when you hear this name? Undoubtedly, most of you would say, “corn.” Some others would think of NIU and wild parties (although I have yet to see a good party this semester).

How many of you think of murder or suicide when you hear the name DeKalb? How about sexual assault and rape? (Yes, there is a difference.)

Chances are, not many of you think of those aspects. We relate those happenings to big cities like Chicago where we expect the “animals” to act uncivilized. It is “the jungle” after all, isn’t it?

We expect murder, sexual offenses, weapons and drugs to loom over the city like a thick, dark rain cloud. Regardless of our fears, we all visit the city at one time or another, partying at night on Oak Street Beach or hitting the nightclubs. (Notice they are called bars here.) We wreak havoc on the town and return to our innocent little DeKalb to fall safely asleep in our cozy beds.

The nightmare of the big, bad city is behind us. Here in DeKalb we no longer have to clutch our purses or scan strangers out of the corners of our eyes. We can walk confidently in the safety that we’re in a small town again, away from the sharp claws of the enemy.

I know that the city does have its share of crime. OK, it has a lot of crime, believe me. I lived there for eight years. But I think we use the image of the city as an enemy too liberally. We need to stop and think about who the enemy is.

The enemy is people and people are everywhere. Believe it or not, people are here in DeKalb, too. I know, intense thought Gina. Don’t worry, I didn’t blow any major brain cells coming up with it. Just follow my train of thought.

Speaking of trains, quite a large amount of DeKalb’s gruesome deaths are related to the trains right outside our back doors. I’m sure you can all recall the stories. But for some reason, we blow these occurrences off as fascinating tales of horror. They never quite hit home unless you’re directly involved.

That is how I always reacted until Friday morning. I received one of the first phone calls reporting a “bloody body on the train tracks.” The details were sickening as well as heartbreaking. It can happen in DeKalb.

A few rapes and sexual assaults are reported here on campus, but how many go unreported? How many suffer? Drugs are on campus, but somehow we don’t see them as a threat. Addicts and pushers who sell crack to kids don’t exist in DeKalb, just in the big city. Think again. It can happen in DeKalb.

The explosive three part series on unsolved murders in DeKalb last semester lends another hand to my cause. We can add the Lisa Garretson case to that. What scares me even more is that these are only the big name cases that reach the ears of the media. So many more never get any special attention.

It can happen in DeKalb.(I keep hearing the Dragnet theme in the back of my head. “Dum de dum dum….dum.”) What I’m trying to say is keep your eyes open. Don’t take your safety for granted. (Don’t get paranoid, though; it’ll really irritate your friends.) We say “This is only DeKalb,” but not only can it happen in DeKalb, it does happen in DeKalb.