Reason First: Thought over Fear

With the spate of mass shootings in the United States over the past decade, the First State got a false alarm that seemed all too real to staff and students. The Delaware State University campus received a lock down notice after text messages proclaiming that a shooter or shooters would be on the premises. Multiple police agencies swept the campus in search of a gunman but found no weapons, reported no injuries or fatalities, or anything suspicious. What all this spells is that fear is still a token of lowlifes.

The people who make up Delaware State University are either trying to extend their careers, advance their studies, or trying to find their way in the world through education. What is not necessary are the threats of the start of force against innocent Americans. It’s like a sick and twisted game of duck, duck goose. The country waits to see who will be the next place to be attacked and sighs relief when a place is spared a massacre. This time, no goose was called. DSU certainly met fortune this week. What good came from all of this confusion? The response teams and the plans that had been put in place to safeguard all of the people that make up the university. Timing became a key element in trying to gather students into safety zones. Police stood ever vigilant in case of a standoff with a person or persons with a firearm.

While it may seem to be a cruel gag to play on people of the city of Dover on the Delaware State Campus, this was no laughing matter. Dozens of law enforcement had to give the all clear to students and professionals who clearly felt shaken by the anonymous text messages. Events and classes had to be canceled in the wake of the fake message. But it had to be treated like a true incident. Otherwise, if the police had been unprepared and staff had not organized the students into places away from possible danger, lives could have been damaged or destroyed. Instead, the quick thinking and readiness of the police and administrators permitted the students to be free from all hurt, harm, or hazard. If, in fact, there remained an active shooter on campus, the law enforcement would be able to neutralize that threat.

The fear that whatever coward sent the message around the campus wanted from the people clearly did not faze them. The irrationalism involved in cases like this should be examined by psychologists and philosophers of law alike. To try to understand the mind as diseased as someone who would post a false message as grave as a possible school shooting ought to be discovered and analyzed. The laws should reflect that persons who feel that they should get their rocks off by stirring up trouble and only posing a threat should face criminal charges. DSU Director of News Services said that if it was a student, he or she should be “punished in accordance with DSU’s code of conduct,” according to Delaware Online. For this louse, the full extent of the law ought to compel them to come forward and admit their wrong. “Suspension and expulsion” are not enough. Charges ought to be brought up on this miscreant when and if she or he is found.

Now, the smell of fear remains in the air on the DSU campus. Folks must look behind them twice whenever they enter the cafeteria or the library. Rationality is the only remedy for this state of subdued panic. The thinking brains of the innocent ought to allow the police to perform their duties to protect the people of the university. In a place geared toward expanding minds and enriching the learning experience, DSU ought to take these threats seriously while continuing to go on with their lives.