Shooting Reaction – Oct. 31, 2012
“‘Why do we let random ass ghetto people on campus?’ I read [that question] on Facebook, and I’ve been crying all day. I don’t want to be on a campus where this type of stuff is said following an event where people could have died.”
Margaret Winn
Junior · Spanish
“People jumped to conclusions. They automatically assumed it was USC students. As unsafe as this area is, I couldn’t see something like this happening on campus.”
Jayden Eick
Senior · Business Administration
“It was a surreal moment. This wasn’t even reality.”
Peter Olah
Freshman · Business Administration
“I was really surprised it happened on campus. I was going to go to the party.”
Kartini Dinh Freshman · Business Administration
“The area around USC isn’t safe. It happens so frequently — and now in the middle of campus.”
Donna Chiu
Freshman · Communications
“We couldn’t be happier with USC. I think it’s a wonderful institution and it’s just an unfortunate situation that happened on campus. It’s not like they [USC] opened the door for this.”
Therese Donoghue
USC Parent
“We’re not panicking, but the department needs to take a closer look at their system.
It comes down to running drills and having an immediate response team put together, and, in the weeks to come, I would like to hear from the department what they learned from this so we know they’re listening to our concerns.”
John Schoff
USC Parent
“I’m an RA so it was concerning. For my department we wanted to make sure everyone was accounted for. We didn’t know who the victims were, but in the end people came together.”
Jesse Zhao
Junior · Biochemistry
“What I want the community to clearly understand is that they should not have an overwhelming fear because statistically, you will have incidents. They are far fewer today than they have been in the past.”
Bob Green
LAPD Commander
Cheryl Ikegami
Sophomore · Health and Humanities
“It was shocking. I found out about the shooting through Facebook. Networking was really important and it was the students’ job to get the word out. The University should have sent something out immediately.”
Livia Soong
Junior · Print Journalism
The party was premoted to the greater LA area saying only you need a student ID or an ID showing you are 18+. The University has no business hosting on campus parties for anyone other the current USC students.
Let’s think about this:
Michael L. Jackson, vice president for student affairs, said university policy requires that on-campus student parties be open only to “guests with student IDs from USC or another university.”
1. so unauthorized guests may be in line and not identified as “unauthorized” until their identification is checked. well, in this instance, because of the extent of the line, there was no ability to check an ID. hence anyone could still be on campus, waiting in line until turned away due to policy (if not a college student or without ID).
2. per policy, to be authorized to trespass on campus one needs to be a student at another university. how does being a college student necessarily reduce the probability of an adverse event? even if it is a student from USC, there may still exist “criminality.” we can state that a student or a USC-student reduces the probability or events of crime but how has this been quantified? what evidence is there other than superstition?
It would be great if we could think this through more before we enact “the next great police state,” evident and abounding throughout the US.
A FIDM/ CSULB/ LMU student passing out drunk at a party is enough “evidence” for the University to call Greek presidents into degrading meetings criticizing the bad bad image of the Row. What image is the BSA presenting with this occurrence? Can’t say! Racist!
If 28th St is held accountable for the actions of non-students, so should the other organizations!
fully agree
But don’t forget that the USC admininstration sanctioned the event. They should have known better and heads should roll.
Meow!
This is what happens when you let local residents on campus
They were not local.
USC NEEDS TO GET ITS ACT TOGETHER. THIS IS A SECURITY ISSUE. FIX IT. PERIOD.
The event was USC sanctioned. Heads should roll.
PUT NIKIAS ON PROBATION!!
I am offended by how the Daily Trojan chose to lead this opinion by parroting a student’s comment: ‘Why do we let random ass ghetto people on campus?’ There is an issue here, but this using broad brush, hate-mongering language is not that way to constructively address the issues.
What the student was asking is a valid question. Why did we let the event promoter allow non-USC students to attend for a $30 fee. To me it seems like someone taking advantage of the university to make a quick buck and we need to hold organizations and individuals responsible: namely Michael Jackson and the BSA. Secondly, we need to cease allowing non-USC students access to the university until they prove they can be trusted. Its high time the university stuck up for our safety to the community.
I am more deeply frightened of the racists on campus than I am of anyone in our surrounding community.
Correct.
I am also scared of these people. We are all students! This is not a race issue! Open your minds Trojan Family.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The racists? Have there been any crimes committed by racists on campus to your knowledge? No, but there has been violent and evil community members murdering students in cold blood, and now engaging in violence on-campus. Your ignorance of the real perpetrators of violence is all too evident.
Maybe my fellow Trojans don’t read the news: people–most often students or university employees who are not black–often shoot people on campuses. Whether at a party or whether the target is a professor, nationally the vast majority of these shootings are by university accepted students or employees. Anyone with a gun can open fire on anyone and security would be lucky to be at the right place and time to respond. I have been on campus and in the surrounding area since 1975 and have never felt unsafe. One shooter at a party is no indication that USC is unsafe. It is an indication that one person was off his /her rocker to even have the gun at a party in the first place!
How can people say it is anybody’s fault for this shooting. Everybody knows the area is not safe. Party, or no party, violence happens around here and it should be no surprise. There are definitely things that could be done to help these types of issues. But to say it is irresponsible to invite non USC students is a bit ignorant. People are people, and USC is a huge campus with a big population. I understand school pride, but to think or expect USC students are completely incapable of committing such a crime is just annoying. It’s like how a mother would never believe her child could do such a horrible thing just because its her child, even if he or she did. I guess the fingers have to be pointed at someeeebody. But maybe there should be rules then. It’s not like whoever organized this event would think they were breaking the rules when making this invite. Maybe the school should be responsible, the adults, administration. Who is to say. This is a huge and popular school in the middle of freakin Los Angeles.
The Black Students Association is primarily responsible for this awful tragedy. USC should put them on probation for behaving in an irresponsible manner by inviting non USC students to a nightclub like event. This is USC, not some trashy venue. Had Sigma Chi hosted such an event, they’d be on probation by now.
fully agree. and in response to the first comment “‘Why do we let random ass ghetto people on campus?’ I read [that question] on Facebook, and I’ve been crying all day. I don’t want to be on a campus where this type of stuff is said following an event where people could have died.” by margarett winn, I think we need to ask this type of question. it is not racist to ask why a student organization invited non students to campus.
if a greek organization invited non-students to an event, leading to a shooting by said non-students, the whole row would go on probation in 5 minutes.
in response to the first comment “‘Why do we let random ass ghetto people on campus?’ I read [that question] on Facebook, and I’ve been crying all day. I don’t want to be on a campus where this type of stuff is said following an event where people could have died.” by margarett winn, I think we need to ask this type of question. it is not racist to ask why a student organization invited non students to campus.
if a greek organization invited non-students to an event, leading to a shooting by said non-students, the whole row would go on probation in 5 minutes.