My Take on This Chilling Crime
College students nationwide are struggling to feel safe after what has become known as the “Horror in Idaho.” On Nov. 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students were murdered in their off-campus home. As investigators and TikTok sleuths try to unravel the details of this quadruple homicide, many students around the country have begun to wonder if simply locking your doors at night is enough.
So many college towns have fraternity row. Home to social life, friends, events, and nightlife, it’s the place to be. Unfortunately, the murder of four students happened just off of the fraternity row at the University of Idaho in Moscow. Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Kaylee Goncalves were bright, talented, and promising students whose lives were taken too soon through a gruesome act of murder.
The theories and details behind this case are endless, but when it comes to the question many have, the nation remains unsure — and frightened. Is anyone truly safe anymore? As a sophomore studying at UW Madison, I have always locked my door every night before going to bed, but now I question if that simple action is enough. Many of my close friends and classmates shared with me that they don’t lock their doors during the daytime. Why should they, they ask? With crime rates on the rise nationwide compared to 2019, many are reconsidering the security of their own college they call home. A junior studying here at the University of Wisconsin Madison tells me,
“How am I supposed to know if someone’s following me? There are thousands of people walking all over campus at any given time throughout the day. I feel the need to constantly be looking over my shoulder and I never feel safe alone anymore.”
The University here in Madison offers a program called SafeWalk that provides students with a group of two individuals from an organization to walk with you in the nighttime hours. This is a great precaution taken for certain situations. There is really no golden solution to all these problems. The demand for Uber at night has gone up, according to a local driver on campus, and the use of SafeWalk has reportedly seen an increase from Fall 2021 to Fall 2022. Additionally, campus police has shown a noticeable presence, with larger amounts of patrol officers and vehicles present throughout the city, along with the school offering courses through the virtual university portal on general safety and sexual assault prevention.
There are actions to take both on the student side and the university side to improve the safety on campuses across the nation. While every detail of what exactly played out in that house on King Road, in Moscow, Idaho may never be known by the public, all that can be done now is improve safety precautions for all students. For more on how to be safe on your local college campus, reach out to the campus or the local police. Most importantly, nothing should go unsaid. If you see something suspicious, speak up to the authorities. For more on the Idaho quadruple murder, make sure to watch the trial on June 26, where justice for the four college students will be sought.