Va. Tech reaches settlement with families of slain students

But that's part of what tuition dollars are supposed to go for, keeping students safe. It's supposed to be a safer place than the real world, and colleges promise that and tout their ability to do so.

 

pern --
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_loco_parentis

Best I can do on short notice. I couldn't get into any of the legal sites.

 

Thanks, F_B. The explanation on wiki doesn't sound like it has much bearing on VaTech, though, even noting that the concept of in loco parentis "has largely disappeared in higher education." Perhaps the wiki entry is missing something you had in mind, or maybe I'm just missing something.

To the extent that universities hire campus police and make students use access cards to dorms and things like that, yes, tuition does go toward safety in some respects. But, honestly, do you really believe college campuses are "safer than the real world?" Really?

Perhaps my experiences in college were completely different from yours, or others on this board, but I never once thought of campus as being "safer than the real world" (and it's not as though my school was in an inner-city somewhere ... it was in a relatively safe suburban area). It is the real world it comes with all the same dangers and, in some respects, others you might not find outside college campuses.

 

I damn sure thought by campus was safer, because it was. I don't know what kind of college you went to, but I'd imagine most people think their campus is safer.

 

What was your campus safer than? The surrounding community? National averages?

My school had an open campus and was basically a part of the town surrounding it (some residents of the town own homes on the campus, for instance). It wasn't a high-crime area by any stretch, but I never considered the campus separate or safer than anywhere else in town.

I am really surprised anyone would think they aren't just as vulnerable to crime on campus as they are in the surrounding area.

 

Safer than the surrounding county and the nation average.

 

And I should clarify ... upon further reflection, yes, most people rightfully believe sitting in a classroom on campus is safer than being in other public places, such as bars, etc.

When I speak about college being no safer than anything else, I'm speaking about all of college life (i.e. campus bars, dorms, frat parties, etc.), not just the classroom.

My point is that college students are not immune from violence or any other dangers everyone else in their communities face every day.