What happened to going to a safe state school? NIU is known as a suitcase school, and sadly, I contribute to that theory. Not only because I have to work, but also because I’m sick of the recent violence happening around this campus.

Recently, two people were assaulted outside Starbusters. The sad part is this is not the first time there has been aggravated violence around campus. Part of college life is the social strata. Because of recent incidents, I cannot contribute to this, even though I personally pay good money to attend here. Why should I have school loans slowly add up when the reputation of the school is slowly depleting? Let’s stop the violence. There is a reason students don’t stick around. Ambivalent officials do not correct the damage that has been inflicted. There is ongoing violence and no one seems to stop it. When is somebody (school officials, police, politicians, etc.) going to address the issue that it is not safe for promising students to be in DeKalb? It is a shame. This school has never made me feel safe. I plead to the editor to publish this letter so other students will recognize that their fears are not isolated. Let’s make an issue of the recent incidents rather than write one story and have an insufficient follow up. In all honesty, I am not damning the educational hand that feeds me; I am just looking for some recognition of problems that are being quietly swept under the carpet.

Anthony Clarizio

Senior finance major