Monday morning marked yet another moment this year where I have sincerely worried about my safety at Ball State University.
I am usually not one of those girls. I don’t worry about being home alone, I don’t worry that someone walking behind me on my way home is out to get me, that’s not how I am. I try to be aware of my surroundings, travel in groups, or “talk” on my cell phone if something feels abnormal, but I know how to protect myself, so normally I am not afraid to go anywhere.
Monday morning, if I had been walking out of a professor’s office hours in WB or out of the library after printing something off, and the alleged gunman had wanted to shoot me, he could have. I would’ve been a 90lb unsuspecting target, and the self-defense classes I’ve taken wouldn’t have helped me. The mace I carry wouldn’t have helped me. None of these things would have helped any one of us. On the other hand, the fact that I, like many other students, own and know how to use a handgun is one thing that COULD have helped me, but that’s a skill that I am not permitted to use to save my life on Ball State’s campus.
This isn’t a political issue. This is a safety issue.
Ball State and UPD are all we have to protect us, because we’re not allowed to protect ourselves.
Maybe it’s just me ... but that thought isn’t helping me sleep at night.
-Kayleigh Mohler
kcmohler@bsu.edu
