I was horrified to hear about the shooting that occurred on campus in a student dorm this past Friday. This occurred in a student dorm by a non-student with a gun. Just three weeks ago I had a conversation with my step-granddaughter during her visit east about her concerns for her safety attending the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
I assured her that she should be safe on campus and certainly in her dorm. As a graduate of two state schools — Rutgers University and the University of California, Los Angeles — I believed that her University would protect her on campus. The University of New Mexico failed to do that with this occurrence.
The University is getting the best and brightest in their state. They have a responsibility to the students and the parents of every student to provide a safe living environment. The student dorm is the substitute home for these students away from their families for the first time in their lives.
Immediately the President Garnett S. Stokes must address these safety concerns. She should be working 24 hours every day to address these issues before many first-year students start their year at the University of New Mexico.
There should be limits to who has access to student dorms. What type of surveillance is provided by the preceptors in the dorms? No one noticed this large group of young men, including a fourteen-year-old, hanging out in a student's dorm room late at night.
And Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham needs to immediately become involved in addressing the safety issues to students at the leading educational institution in New Mexico. These are her students too! Of course, the issue of violence and gun control needs to be addressed, but first students should be provided with a safe space to live and learn.
Terry Kiely
