When choosing a college, many incoming freshmen don't consider a low campus crime rate a priority.
However, with the recent spike of crime on the campus of West Virginia University, it makes one wonder if it will affect how potential students will view our college.
The University Police Department takes pride in sustaining one of the lowest campus crime rates.
In the face of this surge in crime, I hold onto that fact in hopes that these past few months will just been seen as a coincidence.
After the shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007 and the death of University of Connecticut's Jasper Howard this year, providing a safe learning environment seems as if it's becoming a harder task to uphold.
In the past few weeks, the University has reported a sexual occurrence in Lyon Tower and a robbery outside Arnold Hall.
No one can get past what happened to Ryan Diviney at the Willey Street Dairy Mart a couple weekends ago.
These events follow a stabbing on Grant Avenue and shots fired that went into the side of Summit Hall.
These crimes make me wary of walking the streets late at night.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Education reported University police violated the Clery Act in the past.
According to The Charleston Gazette, the University is looking at fines for mislabeling, under-reporting and failing to include crimes in the 2001 and 2002 Clery Reports.
The University police do their job.
They have systems such as the emergency telephones placed around campus as well as the emergency text alerts we receive when a crime is reported.
However, what we've seen is that the telephones are mainly subject to false reports, and the text alerts can be unreliable.
Getting students to be more proactive with their safety should take precedence over possession of a controlled substance or underage consumption citations, which is what usually what fills up the University incident reports.
On the University police Web site I found posters with proactive information, such as a checklist for violence prevention, that I've never seen before on campus.
This is unfathomable.
The Morgantown Police Department, as well as friends and family members, have been urging those who witnessed the altercation on Willey Street that put Ryan Diviney in the Intensive Care Unit at Ruby Memorial Hospital to come forward with information.
Though I'm not privy to this situation, nothing has come out regarding anyone with information about the thugs who sought to beat a young man within inches of his death.
The response should have been overwhelming.
According to The Dominion Post, there is video of several witnesses during the fight that broke out near the Dairy Mart.
Specifically, two females fled the scene along with other unknown bystanders.
Why haven't these witnesses come forward?
If you have and the public just hasn't been made aware, I commend your efforts in seeking a safer community for all of us.
If you haven't: How you can live with yourself?
How you can get up every morning knowing that Ryan is lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life?
His life and his family's lives are put on hold while his assailants walk the streets.
Be responsible.
Look after your belongings. Lock your doors.
If you see someone being pummeled by a large group of guys, call the police.
If you witness a violent crime, volunteer information.
We need to depend on ourselves to take preventative steps and keep this campus and community safer for everyone.
is a member of the 
18 comments
there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."
"Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."
"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know."
"There is no fear of God before their eyes."
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.Romans 3Mr. T will not hid his identity from those responsible for Ryan's situation nor from those who defend their actions
And please, EVERYONE pray for Ryan to make a full recovery!!
Ryan is a victim of this crime. Another irrefutable fact.If the involved persons are innocent, then why are they protecting each other to this level? Why do they not come forward? What are they afraid of?
Come on….think people.I suggest that since they have not come forward after all of this time, they understand that they are in fact GUILTY at some level. Innocent persons do not run and hide from justice in numbers. Individually, yes. As a group...not likely.
Come on….think people.Those involved and the witnesses bear responsibility for their actions, whether this attack was provoked or not. I have trouble believing that two college students and one high school students actually picked a fight with a group of seven young men.
Come on…..think people.One could easily speculate that those involved have talked several times since the incident. Additionally it is reasonable to assume that they have reached a collective decision not to come forward, and most likely are exerting influence on those witnesses to this end. Else, someone would have come forward.In the end, they will be held accountable for their actions by a higher authority then we have here on Earth. Between now and then, there is a great amount of grief and sorrow surrounding the Diviney incident and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of this fine family in their darkest hour of need.I, for one will not hide my identity from this position.
This could be your brother, friend or father one day. You would want someone to be held responsible.
You will live with the memory of what you saw FOREVER. At least feel somewhat good knowing that you
came forward to help capture these criminals. Go to the police and tell what you saw.