On Friday, August 30, hundreds of students sat in the Cathedral of Learning to listen to lectures, review their textbooks and attend club meetings. The Cathedral, affectionately called Cathy by students, is the heart of Pitt’s campus. What these young adults did not know was that just outside, an antisemitic attack was taking place.
An assailant not affiliated with the University attacked two Jewish students with a glass bottle, injuring them both. Nearby police were quick to detain the attacker and prevent further violence.
To make this incident a greater disturbance, the Pitt Police neglected to notify the student body of the attack. The University of Pittsburgh circulates warnings through an emergency notification system (ENS) sent to their Pitt email account. In more serious cases, an automated phone call is made to each member of the student body.
Often times, these alerts include the time and place of the incident, the crime committed, a description of the assailant and any other information that the police find relevant. Notifications range from detailed portrayals of the crime, while others will simply state, “Incident on (street) near (building). Students are encouraged to avoid the area.”
However, no such alert was sent regarding the incident on August 30. Why?
Pitt released a statement nearly four hours after the attack, reading, “Following this incident, understandably some have asked why no Emergency Notification System (ENS) alert was sent. As there was an immediate arrest and no ongoing threat to the public, no ENS message was sent.”
This lackluster response left students disgruntled. If the attack was subdued immediately, why could the Pitt Police not have sent an alert? And how did they know there was no ongoing threat to the public? If notifications regarding off-campus crimes can be sent in the middle of the night, why was there no alert sent out regarding the incident at the Cathedral?
A Pitt student, who was in a club meeting at the time of the attack, reports himself being completely unaware of the situation until he left the building, where two of his peers filled him in. Everything inside the building was business as usual.
Students are not demanding that Oakland become a bubble-wrapped neighborhood. As residents of a major U.S. city, we are aware of the risk of walking alone at night or lingering in an alleyway. However, random middle-of-the-day attacks in broad daylight are crimes of which we deserve to be notified- immediately.