Collegiate Times

Late Monday night, I found myself awakened by a phone call from my mother. Apparently, the events of the previous weekend had scared my grandmother into calling her, and eventually, her into calling me.

Most of the students on this campus, most (not all) are guilty of going out and having a few drinks with friends in an attempt to have a good time. The effects of these so-called ?few drinks,? though, are what concern me. At 2 a.m. Saturday, police responded to an assault victim who is currently unconscious from injuries he sustained. At 2:25 a.m. police responded to another assault. A stabbing was reported at 3 a.m. Police visited the apartment of a woman at 6:25 a.m. who had been raped. Her suspected assaulter was later apprehended.

Also Saturday, a police officer was assaulted when he attempted to stop an altercation between two people. Sunday at 2:15 a.m. another assault on a Virginia Tech student was recorded. A Christiansburg resident was also reportedly assaulted.

I suppose with the events of violence that have been occurring in Blacksburg, my mother, or anyone else?s parent for that matter, has full right to be worried about a child who attends Tech. Sure, violence takes place everywhere, but since when do so many terribly horrific events happen so close together in Blacksburg, Virginia?

Lt. Bruce Bradbery of the Blacksburg Police Department reportedly told the Collegiate Times that 90 percent of all incidents that occurred were alcohol related. Keeping such things in mind, I have to wonder what the Blacksburg police intend to do to attempt to resolve problems such as this and keep them from happening in the future.

As a college student, I can honestly say that at times, my recollection of events that may have occurred one weekend isn?t always so clear. I like to go out and have a good time just as much as the next person. But assault and rape are not included in having a ?good? time.

I?m not sure what people think gives them the right to cause someone physical or emotional harm. I assure you, if you have ever thought you had the right to do such a thing, you do not. There is never an instance, under any circumstance whatsoever, that one person has the right to put their hands on another person in a harmful manner. I don?t care if you are so intoxicated you can?t remember how to spell your last name. No one has a lawful right to harm another person.

Inebriated or not, if you physically harm someone and proof of such can be obtained, you?re going to suffer the consequences of your actions. What makes people think they can use alcohol as an excuse for their actions? Since when do college students know so little about responsibility that they would pawn off the consequences of the things they have managed to do in a drunken state on the beverages themselves? The people who committed the acts that took place this weekend cannot honestly believe they can stand in court and blame the bottlers of Jack Daniels or Bud Light for the fact that they did things they know were wrong.

Of course the police officers that patrol this area should be helping to control occurrences such as this. But realistically, they are. Police officers do not have the manpower or resources to stop every crime in Blacksburg from happening. If it were humanly possible to stop all crime in general, there would be no need for them in the first place. I feel fully assured that the police in Blacksburg are doing absolutely everything they can to make Blacksburg, and Virginia Tech, safe environments.

We as students can do our part as well. I?m not saying that every college student should stop drinking altogether. That is obviously not going to happen and I have a feeling the entire student body would read this and think I had lost my mind if I suggested such a thing. However, there is a difference in smart, responsible drinking and being absolutely irresponsible. Recklessness leads to dramatic events that can endanger the lives of not only the person who is drinking but obviously, keeping in mind the events of the past weekend, the lives of everyone else in your community. Do yourselves, and the rest of the students at Tech and members of the community itself, a favor. Be responsible the next time you pick up a drink. You could be saving a lot more than just your own life.