It seems students have the same complaints every semester.

One most often heard is the university isn’t doing enough to make its campus safer.

Central Michigan Life has harped on CMU for years on this topic, but in all fairness, the crux of this issue isn’t that top university officials aren’t doing their jobs.

Student entitlement is a growing epidemic and it often reigns supreme over rational self-care.

Over the years, CMU has had its share of on-campus incidents, ranging from a Lapeer senior allegedly being mugged at gunpoint last fall to an alleged sexual assault on a Commerce freshman in Jan. 2006.

These things, as unfortunate as they are, do happen. And we most assuredly are not blaming the victims in these or any situations that have occurred on campus.

But these situations can be prevented.

The university cannot feasibly be asked to light every nook and cranny of campus, just like it can’t have 100 emergency blue light locations on campus, rather than the 26 it currently maintains.

As much as university officials would like to do that, those things cost money. And the easiest way to raise the money is to raise tuition. For example, just two years ago, CMU spent $750,000 on a campus lighting project, according to a past CM Life article.

No matter how much students complain, there still are going to be dark places on campus. And university officials are aware of that.

But those are the same officials who constantly warn students about the dangers of campus at night. Those same officials make that clear to prospective students and their parents.

And every time an incident occurs, it’s those officials who send mass ?e-mails to the CMU community, again reminding them of precautions to take to avoid another ill-fated incident.

And 99 percent of the time, those same officials – not the students involved – are the ones taking the blame.

Options available

There are plenty of options students have when faced with the possibility of walking alone at night on campus. Walking in groups, not taking shortcuts away from often-traveled paths and carrying a cellular phone are the best ways to limit suspicious activity.

And, if students still are afraid, they have Night Rides at their disposal. Simply call them up at 774-4357, and a car will be there shortly to pick you up and take you to and from campus locations.

CM Life prints these precautions numerous times a semester, but no matter how broken a record it is, there always seems to be complaints about campus safety.

But realistically, CMU has one of the safest campuses in the state. Compared to Michigan, Michigan State, or Western Michigan – there’s no contest.

Students just have to make a few sacrifices for the statistics to go down.

It might mean going out of your way to take the safe route to your car at night. Or maybe impatiently waiting an extra five or 10 minutes for a Night Rides car that is running a little late.

A few minutes of lost time is a small price to pay if it means avoiding becoming a statistic.

Because if you aren’t responsible, there won’t be any time for hindsight.

And all you’ll have left are complaints.

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