Violence and drug dealing, two hallmarks of gang activity, have appeared on the campuses of NIU and Illinois State University in Normal within the last month.

While the NIU community is being hit with the reality of an established crack-dealing ring, ISU’s recent shootings have also brought concern to many of Normal’s residents. Thus, the ISU violence leads to one question—can it happen here?

Drug sales and violence are clearly cause for concern to any university.

For instance, ISU had two shootings last month, the first occurring on Oct. 30 at its Bowling and Billiards Center, and the second occurring just two days later in a local Burger King drive-thru.

ISU police are still investigating the Oct. 30 shooting that left two ISU students plus one other wounded. According to ISU police chief, Ronald Swan, motives for the shootings have not been uncovered and no arrest has taken place.

“I’ve got our entire criminal investigation unit working on this case,” Swan said. “We’ve talked to a number of people, but no arrests have been made.”

Police reports state the gunman was angered at having to pay an admission fee to get into a fraternity-hosted dance being held at the Bowling and Billiards Center.

In the Nov. 1 shooting, a gunman fired several times at a car filled with ISU students in the parking lot of a local fast food restaurant. Luckily, there were no injuries and the gunman, who is not an ISU student, was arrested.

When reflecting on the crack bust that involved a former NIU student and that crack was said by law enforcement officials to be dealt to some NIU students as well as local residents, a definite question of whether NIU should be concerned of future gang violence has surfaced.

Perhaps an indicator of how seriously university officials at other state universities are taking this threat, ISU officials are quick to point out that no gang involvement has been proven in either of the shootings.

Judy Boyer, associate vice president of the Office of Student Affairs at ISU, said the shootings on Oct. 30 and Nov. 1 were police matters and no documented information has disclosed any information that the shootings were gang or drug related.

Boyer added that it was not a student in the Nov. 1 shooting, and it was not known to be a student in the Oct. 30 shooting.

“There is more concern on campus because of these incidents, but people are dealing with it,” she said. “Students are working well together and with the faculty to try and find ways to minimize exposure to these kinds of attacks.”

ISU has adopted a cautious approach to remedying the concern these shootings have caused by relying on the police and encouraging student/faculty cooperation.

NIU has seen the arrest of a former student, Henry Mack, which uncovered the drug situation in DeKalb. But how NIU will choose to deal with this threat to students, along with the recent shooting, has yet to be seen.

Universities have been exposed to acts of violence and drug activity in past months, and NIU has been no exception. With the recent arrest on Nov. 2 of Mack and seven others, on charges ranging from narcotics racketeering to using a person under the age of 18 to deliver a controlled substance, NIU students may expect university officials to make plans on how to deal with this obvious threat to students.

Mack and his alleged seven-man crack ring were indicted by a grand jury on Nov. 9 on 36 felony charges.