TO THE EDITOR:
Let me tell you about a text message I received from my brother, a first-year student at MIT, who was working the front desk in his residence hall.
The text message said: “Shooter on campus. I’m fine. I’ll let you know when we get an all clear.”
The fear was immediate and nauseating. I realize I am lucky that my brother was and is fine, but for a brief moment in time, the path of my family (and the families of countless other MIT students, staff, and faculty) intersected with the paths of the two young men who are allegedly behind the Boston Marathon bombings.
In that moment, on a campus under a state of emergency, it wasn’t clear what my brother was supposed to do. What would he have done if the shooter had chosen a different path, a path that led to his residence hall?
I am here to share with you that I think we, as leaders on our campuses, have a unique responsibility in such moments of violence.
I am an alumna of UNC and am about to graduate with a Master of Education in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the University of South Carolina. I love UNC. I love working with college students, and I love working on a college campus. I wake up every day excited that I get a chance to work to make the college experience better for my students. There’s something special about the work I am lucky enough to do.
That something special is the countless students who are like my brother — smart, curious, hard-working, and full of potential.
In an emergency, these students are likely to look to us for direction and leadership. How we act in a crisis could influence the safety of the students who motivate us to come to work each day.
