EDITORIAL: Once again, HSU fails to inform students
On Sept. 27, a mass email regarding a crime began making its way into students inboxes to “provide some clarity” on an incident that took place a little over a month ago. The incident involved a Humboldt State University student, who had been stabbed and assaulted less than a mile away from campus on the night of Aug. 26, the first day of classes. While keeping students in the dark for over a month, university administrators once again prove that there hasn’t been improvement on informing students.
According to The Lumberjack, in 2018 an HSU student gathered over 30 signatures from students that were upset over not being notified of fliers that were posted around campus stating “it’s okay to be white,” as part of a nationwide recruitment effort by white nationalist groups. The signatures were submitted along with a statement to the University Senate on Nov. 13; students were never notified about the flier.
Five months after the petition, in April, it took HSU almost 20 hours to notify students about an alleged assailant involved in an assault on campus. The suspect fled from the scene at the time of the incident, but that didn’t prompt a sense of urgency from campus University officials to inform students.
Time and time again, HSU says “it is important to stress that the safety of our students is a top priority for Humboldt State,” but they haven’t proven that to be true. The Sept. 27 email, which came after local media outlets began inquiring and reporting on the incident of Aug. 26, seemed to be damage control from the University rather than sincere concern for its students.
This isn’t the first, second or third time. Is this a pattern of negligence or do administrators just don’t care? HSU needs to seriously start making changes within the University to prioritize student safety, like extending the crime alert system perimeters to at least a mile beyond campus. HSU students can no longer trust the University, until its administrators can effectively advocate for student safety.
