Content warning: This article contains mentions of gun violence and death.

The backlash faced by Northwestern’s administration in light of recent events is not without its consequences and has forced the University body to consider its role within the city of Evanston. I am deeply disappointed by the administration’s response to the shooting that unfolded on Clark Street Beach on Wednesday evening. I’m clearly not the only one who feels this way; in the wake of such an event, the campus has erupted with demands to guarantee students’ safety in the future. This sense of anger is a reasonable reaction, especially given that the University’s response was severely lacking. 

However, I write not to outline these shortcomings, but instead to call attention to the consequences of the student safety demands in the context of the Evanston community. Simply put, our disappointment with Northwestern’s response cannot be limited to the administration alone. That burden must fall onto the student body as well, particularly when demands for increased safety measures overshadow grief, solace and healing practices vital to the Evanston community. 

The night of the shooting, messages — some addressed to the administration — circulated throughout the student body and emphasized the importance of the NU community’s safety. 

Many of these messages, specifically those geared toward NU administrators, failed to mention the death of an 18-year-old boy or the two injured 15-year-old boys. 

I recognize that a letter to the administration, by definition, seeks to demand change on functions directly within the University’s control. However, I have seen more grievances aired over the lack of a timely response than mention of a death in the neighborhood surrounding our campus. To me, this discrepancy speaks to a larger trend of the student body distancing itself from the Evanston community. When difficult moments like these call for unity, there is something troubling about students demanding improved safety measures with little to no recognition of the night’s terrible consequences.

This dichotomy places NU in an admittedly difficult position. I understand the immediate desire for change within the bounds of campus given how horrifying the lockdown period was for many students. This, however, is not a moment when the University community should attempt to isolate or distance itself from Evanston. Despite Clark Street Beach’s immediate proximity to both campus and even my own dorm room, this is first and foremost an Evanston tragedy. The burden of this tragedy is shared by the University since it is located in Evanston, but to imply this tragedy was born from anything related to this school feels inherently co-optive and inaccurate. When students ask for the implementation of future safety measures at NU before they consider their role and ability to evoke change in the community at large, no steps are taken to prevent more of these incidents. The question of how to improve safety in our community is far more difficult to address than the mere recognition of the problem. Nevertheless, identifying the most pertinent problem is a necessary step, and emphasis placed on the failures of the administration detracts from addressing more fundamental issues of Evanston safety and unity. 

For the record, I do not believe these sentiments are mutually exclusive. However, the framing of this issue cannot solely stem from some sense of pragmatism or semantics. A teenager is dead and, in the past 24 hours, I have seen more statements regarding an admittedly terrible robocall than a simple recognition or mourning of this loss of life. This piece is by no means a condemnation of anyone who signed or propagated messages demanding immediate change. However, we are not a solitary institution. We are not distinct from this community, and we cannot pretend to be. I understand a desire for productivity and change in moments of grief and hardship, but the nature of the student body’s response leaves much to be desired. I hope we have the capacity to demand safety in this community as we do safety at our school. We should not have to choose. 

Nate Hanrahan is a Weinberg sophomore. He can be contacted at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.