Life lessons at the Compact

My time here at the Compact is coming to end, but I have definitely learned a lot more than I previously thought! There was an incident last Saturday that caused me to really grapple with how to handle this situation. A strange man had entered my dormroom, and I caught him. Obviously I was very taken aback and frightened, so I informed the University Police Dept. about what had happened. UPD has been excellent in handling the investigation very well. However, when the suspect had been identified by UPD, I learned something very scary, the man in my room had previously been in prison for kidnapping and robbery in another state. Because of my personality, my mind immediately began racing with thoughts about what potentially could have happened. Students both on and off campus were informed about the situation, yet the public was not.

I arrived Wednesday morning to Texas Campus Compact, and told them my new updates on the investigation. Immediately Patricia suggested to alert KEYE CBS News in Austin about this because surrounding neighborhoods should also be informed about this frightening occurance. I did not want to reflect badly on St. Edward's, yet I felt it was important to be civically engaged. Civically engaged. That's sounds familiar. Texas Campus Compact is THE organization that promotes community involvement in higher education, so yes I have learned something beyond what any classroom could have taught me. It is important to speak about about some occurance that could potentially be dangerous to anyone else. If you keep quiet, there is a potential for this incidence to happen again, not just on campus, but in other parts of the community. I think I am taking away much more than just "internship" experience. I am taking away a lesson that I am going to remember for the rest of my life. Even though the University did not take action in informing the public about this incident or showing a photo for his warranted arrest, sometimes it takes individual action to make sure the right thing has been done.

I would like to thank TxCC for instilling this confidence in me. My voice IS a powerful tool and I should exercise my freedom to tell the community what I feel is right.