As students at New York State's largest public university, we are often too consumed with our studies, jobs, extracurricular activities, and social lives to take a step back and think about all of the things we take for granted – our health, our intelligence, our friends and families, our relatively comfortable lifestyle, and our safety.
Unfortunately, it seems we need a chilling reminder every few years or so that all of those things could be suddenly gone.
On Tuesday, a University at Texas sophomore fired several shots around campus with an AK-47, a highly powered automatic firearm, apparently not aiming to hurt anybody. He then shot himself on the sixth floor of the undergraduate library, shocking everyone at the university and around the nation.
On Wednesday, a Rutgers University freshman died by jumping from the George Washington Bridge after illegally shot video of him having sex with a man was broadcasted over the Internet. It appears as if the student had not fully "come out" yet, making the broadcast doubly hurtful to him.
First and foremost, we at The Spectrum would like to extend our deepest condolences to everyone affected by these two tragic incidents, especially the families and friends of the two young victims.
Just a few years removed from the terrible massacre at Virginia Tech University, these latest incidents are more reminders of the many struggles that some college students go through on a daily basis.
Let us be clear. We are not suggesting that these incidents are in any way related and do not seek to draw any other parallel than this: in a college environment, especially at a large public university, some students deal with much more than they may indicate on the surface.
In the Rutgers University case, for example, the actions of the young man who illegally taped his roommate having sex were awful. It was ignorant and extremely insensitive, and it has sparked much-needed dialogue on the issue of cyber-bullying.
But it is probably safe to say that he didn't think his actions would drive his roommate to suicide. That does not excuse his actions, but it should remind all of us, as fellow college students, that the way we treat others can have extreme consequences, whether they be good or bad.
Universities, too, need to do as much as they can to reach out to students who may be in need of help. They need to stress that students should feel accepted and safe at all times, and they need to take action and provide help if that is not the case.
Just last year, there was a scare in Lockwood Library. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. When incidents like the ones at Texas and Rutgers occur, though, we are aware that the same thing could happen here.
Let us all strive to create an environment at UB where nobody would be driven to hurt himself or anyone else through physical violence, bullying, or any other means.
