It's Hard Not to be Paranoid

With events like the Dawson College shooting last year in Montreal, and the Virginia Tech shootings of this year, it's hard not to be paranoid to some extent to be on a busy and bustling campus everyday.

It becomes especially hard when my PAWS announcement bulletins are peppered over the last few weeks with safety advisories like this one:

October 15, 2007 Safety Advisory

Please print and post for those without access to email.

On Oct. 15 at approximately 8:00 a.m., Campus Safety was informed a letter of a threatening nature was found posted on the East exterior door of the Physics Building. Saskatoon Police Service was immediately informed and initiated an investigation.

The safety of students, faculty and staff is our foremost concern. It does not appear that there is any cause for alarm. The University is working closely with Saskatoon City Police and will keep the campus community updated if there are any further developments. Updates will be posted to the Announcement channel on PAWS.

We will continue to inform the campus community of all immediate safety concerns through campus email.

If you have any information regarding this incident, please contact the Saskatoon Police Service at 975-8300. Campus Safety reminds the University community to report any suspicious activity to 966-5555.
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Posted to Faculty, Staff and Students
By University Communications / ECO

A couple of weeks ago there was an announcement about the Thorvaldson building being vandalized with hateful propaganda.

Is it just me? Or ... are these announcements a little scary.

The communication from the U of S always seems to downplay it a little (or is it just me) ... which I find even scarier. I know that if the police are investigating, they can't release a lot of detail, but I kind of feel in the dark about it all.

I study in the Physics building all the time ... makes me paranoid, which sucks. I don't like being paranoid.