As a University of Kentucky student, I’m more than familiar with the constant safety concerns that appear within the student community.
The 2024-25 school academic year faced robbery, gun apparitions rape and assault cases leaving many students to wonder how the University of Kentucky Police Department (UKPD) would increase their responsiveness.
On Wednesday, Aug. 27, UKPD and Lexington Police reported to William T. Young Library, where a shooting threat had been made. Thankfully for everyone, the threat turned out to be a false alarm.
I didn’t come to know this information until I walked out of class and saw police cars stationed outside the library. No one around me seemed to know what event could have prompted so many police officers to appear at such a location.
After asking around for some time, it became evident to me no UK community member was notified of the emergency via UK alert, the university’s emergency response system.
What if the threat had not been a hoax? What if other students, like me, had walked out of class unaware of the danger surrounding the library?
With UK launching the SafeZone app before the beginning of the semester, my hopes were for students to be more informed about the possible dangers impacting Lexington and UK’s campus.
The app is supposed to act as an immediate pathway to contact police and report emergencies or suspicious activities, but it doesn’t perform the same role UK alerts do.
Anyone who receives a UK alert is aware the message and phone call they receive informs them of the emergency being handled and the area it affected.
Over my freshman year, I received an influx of calls and texts warning me about the zones on campus I should stay away from. So, what happened this time around? How did I come to know about a false shooting on campus only after it had occurred?
UKPD often releases crime bulletins in which they detail their action plans in light of current and past issues, but they still seem to have trouble informing the UK community about events until after the fact.
The UK community was only informed of the shooting threat after the Kentucky Kernel posted a reel briefing students about the events. Some students interviewed shared they found out about the incident through the interview being conducted or by watching police arrive at the library.
In the same reel, the Kentucky Kernel wrote Dani Jaffe, UK’s strategic communication associate director, shared UK alerts weren’t sent because “community members did not need to take action.”
In the past, UK alerts have been sent even under suspicions of threats. As of Tuesday, Aug. 26, no one was notified of the present threat police hadn’t had a chance to respond to yet.
Although students are not active responders in a situation like police or firefighters are, we can still “take action” by choosing to avoid certain streets or stay put, but first we need to be made aware of the emergency at hand. That was sadly not the case in this instance.
If the shooting threat had been real, shouldn’t students have known about it? In the event a UK alert had been sent, evacuation and other safety plans could’ve been made for everyone at the library to remain safe.
Risking students’ safety due to uncertainty is never a valid excuse. As students, we are not equipped with enough information to know how to respond. What routes could people have taken to avoid the shooter? What other solutions are there that lead to the safety of everyone? We don’t know; we remain uninformed.
Police responded to the threat within under two minutes of its issuing, isn’t that enough time to configure a short briefing of the event to students in the form of a UK alert? I believe it is.
Given the police didn’t determine the shooting threat as a false alarm until after arriving at the scene, a UK alert should’ve been sent to inform students of the possible reality of such a scenario.
While UK offers many safety services, including blue emergency towers, the SAFECATS program and monitoring of resident halls, I think it forgets the most important part about responding to an issue is learning about it.
I, like other students, am often on campus traveling from one class to the next, eating at the dining halls and engaging in student activities. If a dangerous situation arises, every single person deserves to know about it.
UK alerts hold much relevance to the student community. That is the only way many stay informed about the safety levels on campus.
A new year never guarantees new and improved security, however, as a member of a community that has seen multiple crimes I expect safeness, that includes knowledge of current dangerous activity.
I urge UKPD to issue UK alerts whether an emergency is ongoing or not. Alarming people of the possibility of threat is not wasting anyone’s time, that’s for sure.
Taking into account the recent event, I hope that in the future UK understands staying informed is the only way we can all stay safe and cooperate
