The Campus Atmosphere

After the events yesterday, many are shook about what happened. Although the final report was a murder-suicide in an isolated building away from many of the students, they are still shaken and I understand why.

Where there is information, there is misinformation. They both spread just as quickly, but it is harder to dispel the misinformation in some cases. From a source of authority, students were told that there were multiple shooters with a plan of action to hit four major parts inside and outside UCLA: the dorms, the apartments, North Campus, and South Campus. With that, many were led to believe that their lives were in immediate danger. There are people that cannot let the issue go and that is fine in a traumatic experience such as this. This campus is not just where we learn, but it’s where we convene, eat, sleep, and live our life. When campus is threatened, our livelihood becomes threatened and for many, that means sheer panic. Many people that I talked to were joking about the event. Just as many seem to not be able to carry on with their daily lives. The precedent that “one must kill someone for doing one wrong” has been set a long time ago; it was just practiced on our campus. It’s finals season, tension is high and, now, more people are not in a stable mindset.

With any event, there is an analysis of the event. Some students are shook and others are carrying out as if nothing had happened. Some professors are the same way. There has been many complaints about professors demanding that their exams and finals still be taken regardless of the lock-down. Some professors have made finals optional or canceled them altogether. The ones that demanded their finals be taken during the lock-down was inconsiderate, but there is a chance that they did not know the situation was as dire as it was.

There has been social justice analysis of this event. Gun violence, ignorance to other issues, politics, …the list goes on. How many times will people lose their lives over someone with a personal vendetta and a gun?