Lack Of Communication

Courtesy: Natalie Claunch/Technician

When word broke out about the shooting at Cameron Village, I was very concerned for my own personal safety. Heck, I didn't even know about what happened until I saw it online in my first class, a good hour or so after the incident ocurred. 

While schools all around N.C. State's campus were locked down, State students did not even receive a WolfAlert text until the afternoon. In the past, N.C. State has been very good with communicating pertinent information through its texting system. However, when a gunman was on the loose not even a half mile from campus, the school neglected to inform its students on the possible threat. 

According to a story in today's Technician newspaper Lt. David Kelly, operations manager for Campus Police, said an alert was not sent out right away because there was no “immediate or imminent threat on campus.” Obviously, this was not a random shooting but the suspect could have, very well, gone on a shooting spree out of anger. 

Many students, including myself, have voiced concerns over this situation. Kelly went on to say that Chancellor Woodson's policy on these alerts "only covers the campus and areas adjacent to campus." When Cameron Village is not even one mile from my class near the Bell Tower, I think that is close enough. It will be interesting to see if anything is done to correct this policy.