Recently an article was published about how “unsafe” Campbell University. The Odyssey encourages their writers to write about anything, even unpopular opinions. Amanda Ritz had one and she wrote “Campbell: Start Taking Your Students Seriously”. I am sad that this young lady has had a terrible experience but I would like to respond to this absurd article. Not only does it degrade veterans but there are too many holes in this story.

For those who do not know, Campbell is a private Christian college. There are very strict rules about living on campus. The opposite sex may only be over from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. You can only sign in two people from the opposite sex in at a time. Ritz explains that her roommate let her boyfriend move in with them and she told the Resident Director who apparently did nothing. She then goes on to explain that she communicated her concerns with Residence Life whom apparently did nothing as well. First off, Resident Directors would never brush that off nor would Residence Life. If that was the case of both of them brushing the situation off, Ritz could have gone to their advisor, a Resident Assistant, or even Faithe Beam. She only tried two places.

Ritz then goes on to describe a terrifying experience that makes her “heart automatically race upon walking into the library.” She begins to explain that she and her boyfriend were studying when she noticed someone staring at her, which made her feel uncomfortable and end up leaving. However, she forgot her phone and had to go back. Going back with a group of friends made her feel safer but they asked the gentleman if he knew where her phone was and he started “briskly walking towards” her. Still with her boyfriend, the man pushed her boyfriend into a wall. She was not able to give more details because of confidentiality. Then why even write about something you cannot give the full details about?

In that same paragraph Ritz states “a 24 hour library is a great idea until people who have violent backgrounds are allowed to use those resources.” The man was “an ex-military man who appeared to be in his thirties.” So how does she know that he is an ex-military veteran? Also why bring up his age? Anyone can go to school at any age. Also, she correlates an ex-military person with a violent background. How do you know he has a violent background? Why would you even assume that? She is saying that military personal have violent backgrounds? That is just disrespectful.

Instead of trying to get justice to her problem, Ritz decided to write about it and bash the University. She never looked to other resources nor did she think about other people. This article is and will get a ton of backlash because there are an enormous amount of holes, which gives the impression to others that she is seeking attention. I am all for raising awareness of campus safety, but she should have not wrote this due to lack of evidence and confidentiality. Campbell University is safe and the staff is very friendly and takes students and safety very seriously.