Campus safety seems to be a valued issue here at UNC Wilmington. Between the on-campus security guards, blue boxes and one card access points, it is easy to feel safe here. However, national news has the ability to bring attention to the threats college students face.

For example, some serious events transpired back in August at Cornell University. During a student-run event on Cornell’s campus, an Ithaca student was stabbed to death after a fight broke out.

The victim, 19-year-old Anthony Nazaire, was a sophomore at Ithaca College studying business administration. Nazaire was also an executive board member of Brothers4Brothers, which is a student-led organization that is “dedicated to empowering men of color” as reported by Time Magazine.

It appears that no one is quite sure what sparked this deadly brawl on campus and no arrests in regards to the altercation have been identified, explained Time Magazine. However, the Ithaca police are still investigating the homicide.

Nazaire’s family was obviously devastated by his death. His mother, Katia Toussaint, stated to the New York Daily News, “I didn’t send my son to school to get murdered.” Ithaca College President, Tom Rochon, commented in a statement, “I hope you hold these students – along with their families, friends, classmates and professors – in your thoughts and prayers at this difficult and tragic time,” as reported by Time Magazine.

No one can deny that this is a tragic and devastating event. My heart goes out to those who were close to Anthony Nazaire and I hope that those who knew him can find peace with such a horrible event. It appears that he had a promising and bright future and it is a real shame that he is no longer here.

I can’t help but wonder what spurred such a horrible incident to occur. I often wonder this when anyone young is murdered. We are all such young and impressionable minds; it’s heartbreaking anytime I hear about something like this.

As I have grown older, I have come to find that life is such a fragile thing. While none of my friends have died, I do know people my age that have. It is a strange feeling to see someone everyday and while maybe you are not friends, you are just used to seeing them and then one day you do not anymore.

When this occurs, you can feel that person’s absence, even if you did not know them on a personal level. As for those who did know them as a friend, a sibling or anything else; I cannot even begin to imagine what it feels like to lose someone that young and quite frankly, I hope I never have to.

This leads me into a very sensitive subject. Most campuses seem like a very safe place with people available to aid you if you feel threatened. But in Nazaire’s case, those opportunities were not good enough. At what point do we as citizens need to be able to defend ourselves?

Time Magazine’s article, regarding Nazaire, leads me to believe that the fight was unexpected and that the victim was unprepared to defend himself. Now, my question is, would he still be alive if he could have protected himself?

Most campuses across the country are very active in keeping their students safe. However, at what point is it time for you as an individual to take your own protection into your own hands? I am not a huge fan of weapons and I am definitely not a fan of weapons on any campus: college, high school or any other educational setting. But I think that being able to protect yourself in extreme situations like this is important as well.

I feel that being able protect yourself is more than having a weapon. Do I think that college students should be required to take a self-defense class? Absolutely! Maybe that would have saved Anthony Nazaire.

No one can say for certain what could have saved Nazaire nor can anyone know for sure that he was not involved in something he should not have been. It is also possible that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Knowing how to protect yourself is hugely important and I do not feel that we always have to have weapons to do it.

I do not think that we really can stop events like this from happening. We can and should do all we can to prevent them and we can absolutely decrease their occurrences, but stopping them all together would be quite a challenge. I feel incredibly safe at UNCW, but you never really know when you could end up in a bad situation. Knowing what to do if that happens and how to protect yourself is key.