In April 2008, someone brought a gun to a party at the University Village Apartments (UVA) and shot a couch. It wasn’t the first time either.

The shooter, Omar Graham, wasn’t a FAU student. He had gotten into an argument with another party-goer and three shots were fired. No one got hurt, but the campus was locked down. Graham faced 90 days in jail and had to pay FAU $13,000 in restitution.

Then, a few months later at another party in UVA, the police got a call about another gun.

Eight men, who weren’t FAU students, came with 16 cases of Miller Light ready to party. A resident assistant (RA) stopped them and asked who they came to see, but they couldn’t give a name and went upstairs anyway. They found a party, but no one knew who they were, so they were asked to leave. They didn’t like that very much.

An argument started and one person said, “Yeah, I’m threatening you,” and lifted his shirt showing something in his waistband that looked like a gun. Students called the police, but no gun was found.

September is Safety Month at FAU, but students should be concerned about safety issues every day. Administration knows students will find ways around whatever security is put in place, potentially making FAU unsafe (read pg.12 … stranger).

Graham and the eight men easily got on campus and could have hurt someone. If students were more cautious about who they let into the dorms, situations like this wouldn’t happen.

After all, serial killer Ted Bundy was able to get into Florida State University’s campus, sneak into the Chi Omega Sorority house, rape and kill two girls, and bludgeon two others.

The point is that it’s the students’ responsibility to care about who they let on campus, and report any suspicious incidents. Most of the time students are too nice and hold doors open or swipe their Owl Cards for someone they don’t know.

Sometimes being nice is dangerous.