Typically, when one thinks of the word ‘home’ it brings to mind safety, comfort and security.
For the women who experienced break-ins last week, this not the case. They went to bed not knowing a terrifying situation would soon occur. Hours later, Bloomington awoke to horrible news.
Three separate break-ins happened in the early hours of Thursday morning. It was reported a masked man was seemingly responsible for each of the incidents. In one case Thursday morning and in another case on Monday, he also attempted rape.
As one roommate recalled the incident to IDS reporters, “He went into the victim’s room, where she slept. He threatened to kill her with a gun if she did not take her clothes off. She screamed. He threw her phone underneath her bed and fled, yelling, ‘You’re a bitch,’ before slamming the door.”
Right away, students began to ask questions. Who was this man? More importantly, why weren’t we alerted about the break-ins?
We at the Editorial Board are very concerned about the lack of alerts. We can recount incidents where we got alerts for far more minor incidents.
However, it turns out that the break-ins simply happened outside of the area that qualifies for students to receive text alerts and calls. Understandably, many students were still upset. The crimes occurred in close proximity to campus, and many of us live in these areas.
With or without alerts, many people are starting to behave more cautiously. It’s no big secret that many college students don’t lock their doors.
We understand why it is easy to forget; roommates come in and out all day long with their busy class schedules, and it is easy to let a door go unlocked for a short time. However, we agree with the Bloomington Police Department’s advice to keep doors locked from now on. It really is the only way to attempt to prevent the possibility of such a terrifying crime.
As for who committed the crimes, there is no confirmed suspect yet. Of course, this makes many people, particularly women – as all victims were women – still on edge.
To put it bluntly, we hate how women have to live in fear of a situation just like this one. The women of Editorial Board agree that we should feel safe in our own homes.
The worst part is, it is not a great majority of bad people inciting fear. In this case, it is just one person. Because of the nature of the crime though, it has created widespread distress.
Many women are familiar with the scary sensation of walking home late at night alone. Incidents like these don’t help to ease nerves.
We do not mean to suggest that this is indicative of a new crime wave, but we do think that it is awful that the four women had to experience what they did, and that many more are suddenly worried about their own safety.
On a more positive note, the Bloomington Police Department has stepped up and increased their patrols for the time being. We hope that these extra security measures, partnered with students locking their doors, will help people feel safer.
Most of the time, Bloomington is a lovely place to experience college life.
Both the day and night life are vibrant, and most people are friendly.
Scary incidents like these tend to really shake the campus, and we hope IU students will continue to enjoy their college experience while remembering to always be as safe as possible.
