Students with good grades, no disciplinary record and good financial status may be leaving NIU – without graduating.

A lot of unfortunate events have taken place this semester at NIU. Besides the events of Feb. 14, a number of instances have burrowed in many of our minds.

The muggings, multiple threats and, for some, the very environment of the campus has cast a shadow over the spring semester. Though students may not be affected by these things directly, some are looking elsewhere for a more enriching, less dramatic college experience.

“I’m just looking for something new,” said sophomore history major Peter Jeong, who applied to University of Illinois at Chicago for the upcoming fall semester. “Being here two years has made me want to be in a new surrounding.”

Other than wanting a breath of fresh air in a new place, I often hear people complain about the unfriendliness of others. Obviously, such a notion doesn’t reflect the whole of the student body. Still, if anyone feels uncomfortable, unsafe or out of place, it should be taken into consideration.

Though I’ve personally concluded that no matter what happens here, it shouldn’t too greatly affect one’s willingness to stay. Leaving is, of course, a personal choice. And for those who would want to leave, it isn’t too hard to understand how anyone could have been misled about what it’s like here.

Last year, I remember looking out my dorm window from the fourth floor of the Lincoln D wing and seeing a group of men attacking someone while their vehicle rested at a stop sign. When they were finished, they hopped back in and fled. I also remember seeing the photograph online of the freshman who was severely beaten during homecoming last year and initially thinking that he was dead. Though those incidents in no way directly affected me, I’m still sure those aren’t exactly the kinds of things you want freshmen or incoming students to see and know about.

Fortunately, NIU has not reached the level of violence of Chicago Public Schools right now, which have seen a horrific increase in gun-related fatalities. However, with as much tuition as we pay, one would think that this institution would be free of the same neglected atmosphere that plagues some of the poorest and most crime-polluted areas of our state.

I’m not saying that DeKalb is particularly affluent, but if you have the intellect to get into college and don’t like to waste money, it’s ironic that you would be the same type of person to call in a bomb threat or try to rob any of Shelley’s delivery drivers (and those are pretty cool guys).

So that begs the question: “What kind of place am I in?” And that is dependent upon the kind of people who populate the area.

“The people who should be leaving are the ones making the threats,” junior English major Vinny Slowiak said. “Those people want classes and exams canceled. If you don’t want to take a test, why are you in college?”

So whether it is recent events or the collective mood, every individual should do what they can to make this a warm, comfortable place. It really doesn’t matter what happens here, because it is the people who make this place what it is.