I was reading an article about a college campus that is very similar to our own. The students and the faculty all were busy and motivated to make the school year constructive and lively.

I appreciate that aspect of UND, the fact that it tries its best to bring out support and love for its community.

But I wonder what would we do in the event of the campus being hit by a tragedy.

In 2007, Virginia Tech University suffered a horrendous loss. Shooter Seung-Hui Cho took the lives of 32 people, injuring 17 others before taking his own life in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. To open up an article and learn several of its students were connected to recent murders within the Blacksburg community, where the campus is located, has absolutely broken my heart.

While I do not know everything that has happened regarding this case, it is a painful thing to read nonetheless. A community so small rocked by two major events this close in time is heart wrenching. A college campus should be a safe haven for everyone who attends it. And when someone breaks in and terrorizes that safe haven, it can make anyone feel the need to second guess their relative safety.

Thirteen-year-old Nichole Lovell, went missing from her home early last week, and her body was found  Saturday. While the death of Lovell at the hands of former Virginia Tech students David Eisenhauser and Natalie Keepers doesn’t seem like it can be associated with previous tragedy, I would argue that is not the case.

The link between the two is a single community that has experienced unspeakable horrors.

These events have left an    immense circle of confusion and chaos within the university and surrounding community. I have wondered how can I, a student here at UND, even make a difference or care about an event at a school so far away. But I’ve been met with the words of Blacksburg Mayor Ron Rordham.

“The Virginia Tech Community has suffered inexplicable tragedies that cannot be forgotten. And this is no different,” he said.

This quote reminds me that just because it might not be on my campus doesn’t mean I shouldn’t care. People are hurting and instead of telling jokes about people’s pain or pretending things don’t happen by saying “not on my campus,” I would encourage anyone who reads this article to be empathetic. To understand that loss of any sort is devastating then maybe, just maybe the Virginia Tech Community could benefit by you thinking about them.

Amina Chinell-Mateen is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected]