To whom it may concern:
I am a student at American University and I am writing this letter to express my discontent with the discontinuation of the “police blotter.”
The blotter served as an excellent way for any AU student, myself included, as well as any professor or staff member, to educate him or herself on the current state of our campus and see whether or not there were any recent occurrences to be concerned about. The new “crime log” does nothing but report dates, crimes, times and general locations, which gives me no insight as to whether or not I should be concerned about some of the events which have been reported. Any example from this new, lackluster “log” would serve to prove my point, but I believe a recent posting at the time of this letter’s composition perfectly illustrates this worrisome condition.
It states that an “Aggravated Assault” occurred at “Anderson Hall-Inside” on “9/13/2011 22:30.” And “the case has been forwarded to MPD or other law enforcement agency.”
Now please tell me how this is in any way a sufficient summary of what was a clearly significant crime on our campus? As a resident of Anderson Hall, I, in addition to my fellow residents, am surely entitled to a more detailed and thorough report than this impersonal rag. There is no framework, nor is there any back story, meaning there is no substance. Without this substance, I feel significantly less secure living in Anderson Hall and at AU. I am also less confident about the openness of AU Public Safety who up to now has been nothing but accessible, personal, professional and stellar in both duty and deed. I hope this faceless, detail-deficient sheet does not mark the beginning of a less personable and open AU.
I understand that some said the “police blotter” had become a source of amusement for many, but this fact alone cannot be the reason why the blotter has been discontinued. It would be a travesty if something as petty as people laughing at the blotter were the sole rationale for its unnecessary.
We, the tuition-paying students of American University, deserve a full explanation of the blotter’s cancellation supplementary to the reinstatement of the full stories of any and all criminal activities that occur at our university. I await any response to the many pleas of the student body and hope the words of this letter find their way to reasonable ears.
Very truly yours,
Nicholas A. Rangos SPA, 2015 edpage@theeaglonline.com