The ground was cold on Tuesday.

Sophomore Christen Schwarz said that was her  first realization as she stepped outside barefoot to support “One Day Without Shoes.”

The event strives to raise awareness about people in other countries who don’t own a pair of shoes.

Tom’s Shoes, a footwear company that donates one pair of shoes to an impoverished person for every pair they sell, sponsors the annual event.

People can become susceptible to disease and infection if they walk barefoot, and schools can deny children entrance if they do not own shoes.

“It’s a good cause,” Schwarz, an international studies major, said. “It makes you appreciate what many children and people in Africa are going through.”

Freshman psychology major Alaina Rodriguez said she found out about the cause through other people and by owning a pair of Tom’s.

She said the event raises awareness because people walking barefoot around campus have to deal with questions and talk about the cause.

“It creates a scene, and people get out the word that way,” she said.

She said it also may inspire others to join in next year or research the issue on their own. This consciousness may also lead people to help in other ways.

“If more people know about it, then the problem is being worked at,” she said.

Kyle Faulkner, a sophomore communications studies and international studies major, said he was inspired to help with the event after learning more about the cause and going on a mission trip to Jamaica.

He said he was inspired to step out of his comfort zone and develop empathy for people who don’t have basic necessities, like shoes.

“I’ve never considered the position of not having shoes, until I found this cause,” he said. “It’s a good time to think about the things we take for granted in our everyday lives.”

He said that while preventing disease by providing people with shoes is important, making sure children can attend school is crucial.

“[Not having shoes] takes opportunities and experiences for growth away from them and harming them for their later years,” he said.

While Faulkner said he understands that some people went without shoes just because their friends did, he said they could still gain something from the experience and realize how fortunate they are.

“My hope is that Butler students are changed too, that we broaden our perspective and realize that some things we worry about are pretty petty,” he said.

He also said the focus of the event was the issue, and people should not get caught up in how long other people went without shoes or where they went without shoes.

“This is not a contest to see who can be the most dedicated to going barefoot all day,” he said. “It’s about drawing empathy and raising awareness for an issue that not many people think about.”

The 2010 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon may cause some dilemmas for Butler University students and parents Nov. 6.

The marathon, which highlights some of Indianapolis’s more recognizable monuments like Lucas Oil Stadium, the Arts Garden and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, will go through campus as part of the course.

Ben Hunter, Butler University Chief of Police, said he is happy to see campus as a part of the event, but acknowledges that some problems might arise, as race day coincides with Butler’s Family Weekend.

Hunter said there would be new parking regulations along Hampton and Sunset in order to accommodate the marathon.

“Unlike other times when we have to shut down parking along the roads through campus, like homecoming, that only last a couple of hours, the marathon is a day-long event, so we will be shut down for the majority of the day,” Hunter said. “This means we have to find a solution for multiple hours on what to do about the parking.”

The department has developed a university parking map for the weekend that Hunter said will highlight different areas that will be available for parking during the marathon and for Family Weekend.

The maps will be distributed throughout the week to all resident halls.

In addition to the parking dilemma, campus will be much more crowded than usual—which always raises security concerns. While there will be security on duty at the events, Hunter said there is no reason for alarm or suspicion.

Homecoming—it’s one of the biggest days for students, alumni and fans, but what does the jam-packed day of events mean for the Butler University Police Department?

BUPD Chief of Police Ben Hunter said their security assignments are not much different from any other main event that happens on campus.

“We always increase security for any events—homecoming, family weekend, whatever,” Hunter said. “It’s not because we think something is more likely to happen, but anytime you bring large amounts of people to campus, it’s best to increase our presence.”

Besides added security for events leading up to the game, the actual game security assignments were the same as usual.

Hunter said the department was not expecting any trouble, but was expecting to have more people to move in and out of the event.

He said the main job of security is to be aware of what’s going on at events and guide anyone who is in need of directions.

Hunter said there was not any premature warnings or threats to campus that students needed to worry about—last year, the school did receive a bomb threat during the Final Four showing in Hinkle Fieldhouse.

As far as the homecoming parties and underage drinking, Hunter said the university was “not specifically looking for action.” He said the only reason police ever investigate parties is due to neighborhood complaints.

“Party responsibly and the police won’t be invited,” he said. “Party irresponsibly and the police will be invited, and not from the host.”

Hunter said if there were complaints or officers noticed anyone acting out-of-line, the department was obligated to follow up.

He said they have been far more proactive in reaching out to students. It was part of their responsibility in watching over students’ health and safety.

Junior Katie Melone said she thought BUPD was not as approachable.

“I thought BUPD was a lot more overbearing than normal,” Melone said. “I thought they made themselves unapproachable by students who might be in need of assistance because they seemed to take a stand against the underage drinking.”

BUPD’s “homecoming after action preliminary report” showed one arrest for public intoxication, four students given medical attention for intoxication and three summons for arrest for minor consumption.

There were also two thefts reported—one involving someone entering the game and stealing a Morehead State player’s helmet and the other involving a student detained for stealing traffic cones.

Another student-voiced concern was the parking limitations for the morning homecoming activities, though Hunter said the zone enforcements were not in effect for the weekend.

He said he estimated the loss of seventy spots from the parking regulations along Sunset and Hampton.

He hadn’t foreseen any huge issues with clearing the streets since the staff parking would be less full and housing unit share lots. Hunter also said the department had given out pamphlets to all of the housing units about the parking limitations that would be in affect to let students know they were welcome to move their cars to the lower bowl area.

He said the parking bans were put in effect to allow homecoming traditions such as the Sigma Chi Chariot Races and the annual homecoming parade to be possible.

“These are only a temporary [parking] ban we are enforcing at the requests of students,” Hunter said.

He said because it was a student-requested ban, students should understand that BUPD was trying to make the day as enjoyable as possible and though it might have been inconvenient for some, they did what was best for the entire student body.

The “homecoming after action preliminary report” noted seven total vehicles towed from campus on Saturday.

Hunter said in the future, BUPD might consider making separate parking maps for homecoming weekend so students wouldn’t have any uncertainty about where extra parking is available.

He also said BUPD is more than happy to work with student organizations to make sure all of the events run smoothly.

“Homecoming is a university-wide effort to be supported by everyone and BUPD is happy to do their part.”

Butler University’s campus was filled with students excited to participate in homecoming events last week.

The theme of homecoming this year was Butler University’s International Tour.

Information about events was sent out via messages from the “Butler Homecoming 2010” Facebook group created by Special Events Chair of Program Board Brittany Dorsett to reign in as much participation as possible.

One of the events that lasted all week and received large participation was the search for Blue II and Butler President Bobby Fong.  Every morning a clue to find either a Blue II or Fong sticker on campus was distributed to homecoming representatives and presidents.

Dorsett also sent an e-mail through the Butler listserv each night explaining when the next clue would be posted on Facebook. Many waited by their computers in the morning and to find the clue as soon as it was posted, she said.

The search for Blue II and Fong got a lot of students to participate in homecoming all week long.

“People really enjoyed this ‘hunt’ every morning and a lot of people said they thought it was a great idea and was really fun,” Dorsett said.

Other homecoming events, all organized by Dorsett and Special Events Committee Co-Chair Michael Couch, began on Monday with the comedy game show in the Reilly Room of Atherton Union.

The comedy show included one hour of stand up, one hour of crowd participation and a costume contest among the king and queen contestants judged at the end of the event.  Members of the homecoming committee also gave away trucker hats and sunglasses to the first students to arrive.

These free and highly-desired items were again given away along with water bottles on Tuesday at the “International Adventure” on the Mall.

The “International Adventure” involved a blow-up obstacle course, sumo wrestling suits, a mechanical bull, pizza and music, attracting more than 500 students.

“People loved the different attractions and we had people out there for the whole two hours,” Dorsett said.

Finally, that night, an entire bus full of students was taken downtown to go on Italian gondola rides on the canal beneath the stars.

On Wednesday, students went to a Zumba class in the Reilly Room where they again received free water bottles and Butler University sweat bands.

Zumba is an intense fitness workout to the blended sounds of Latin and International music.

Students who went to this event also earned points for their homecoming team if they had more than 15 people from their team present.

That night, the homecoming committee also held the annual “Midnight Snack,” which was organized by juniors Colleen Finn and Grace Fisher.

Finn and Fisher acquired more than 2,780 food items from restaurants like McDonald’s, Arby’s and Jimmy John’s.

Wednesday night after the “Midnight Snack,” students stayed up late getting lawn decorations or “lawn decs” set up on their team’s designated lawn as they were due by 10 a.m. Thursday morning.

Thursday night, Butler’s annual cheer competition, “Yell Like Hell,” began in Hinkle Fieldhouse. Teams worked to create the most innovative and crowd-pleasing cheer routines while representing their team’s country.

“It was incredible. We were absolutely thrilled. Everyone put in a lot of effort, so winning was a huge reward,” Krista Miller, a sophomore and member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, said about Team China’s victory in “Yell Like Hell.”

Finally, on Saturday, Butler alumni spent most of the morning and even some of the afternoon visiting the classrooms, dorms and Greek houses they once called their own at Butler University.

At noon, the homecoming parade began at Fairbanks Center and ended at Hinkle, leading the multitude of students, alumni and faculty to the 1 p.m. football game against Morehead State.

The announcement for the winners of homecoming queen and king was made during halftime of Saturday’s game.

Steph Gray, a senior member of Alpha Chi Omega was crowned homecoming queen by last year’s queen, Betsy Shirley.

Joe Wadlington, a senior member of Phi Kappa Psi, was crowned homecoming king by last year’s king, Anthony Erlandson.

The enormous workload of Brittany Dorsett and Michael Couch was eased by the help of Assistant Director of PuLSE Meg Haggerty and the homecoming committee, numbering more than forty student volunteers.

Overall, Couch said he felt good about the week.

“Homecoming went really well. I think that everybody had a great time and that all of the events were successful,” Couch said.

Butler University celebrated homecoming 2010 beginning Oct. 17 and ending Oct. 23 with the homecoming game against Morehead State University.

You could hear the joyful noise spilling out of Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall.

Sarah Eyerly, assistant professor of music history at Butler University, was lecturing to an audience of about 50, and the audience was singing back.

Eyerly discussed the worship music of the Moravian Church, an 18th century utopian community.

After the lecture, Eyerly led a traditional Moravian “singing hour” or worship service.  She asked the audience to play the role of the congregation, requiring them to sing in German.

To begin, Eyerly descended down the aisle wearing a stark, white wedding gown and floor-length veil.

Eight student performers followed, playing the role as the church choir.

Doug Johnson was one of the student performers.  As a sophomore music education major, he said he was intrigued by this unique form of musical worship.

“We were performing while laying face down on the floor, which sounds weird, but I loved it,” he said.

Eyerly’s lecture was part of the semester-long Faculty Artist Series presented by the Butler University School of Music.

While on campus, Eyerly teaches the 17th and 18th century portions of Music History and a class in World History, among other things.

Johnson is a student of hers.

“You can tell she has a real passion for world music and everything she teaches,” he said.

Daniel Bolin, chair of Butler’s School of Music, said the series also provides an opportunity for faculty to present about the subjects their most passionate about, their research.

“Our research is different than other areas of academia,” Bolin said.  “Other areas might write books.  Our faculty does performance, that’s their way of presenting research.”

According to the program, Moravians used improvisational music to connect with God and with each other.

“It is a good demonstration of how music can create space and a sense of community,” Eyerly said.

Butler students value music for the same reason.

“Music is a great way to bring a community together,” Johnson said. “Just being with all these musical peers creates this bond that only JCFA students seem to understand.”

Living away from home for the first time can be confusing and difficult for college students. Luckily, they don’t have to face this situation alone.

Butler University resident assistants are available around the clock to all students living in residential halls.

The job requires behind-the-scenes work and begins with a rigorous application process.

Sophomore Ryan Tewell is an RA at ResCo and said he remembers the process well.

It begins with a written application, a group interview and finally an individual interview.

During the individual interview, perspective RAs give a presentation about themselves to a panel of current RAs and residential hall supervisors.

The process doesn’t end there, Tewell said. The job requires RAs to attend classes before they take the position.

“Basically, we learned some of the things that we would be dealing with, but we also learned about ourselves: our strengths and how that would help us in the job,” Tewell said.

The RAs come back a week before everyone else arrives on campus to complete training on how to deal with situations they might encounter while on the job.

“We learned about the policies and participated in diversity training,” Tewell said. “And then we were deemed ready for our residents.”

RAs are also required to put on a certain amount of events that promote the Butler Wellness Model.

The model includes seven different aspects of a student’s wellness, including social wellness, mind and body wellness, cultural awareness and community interaction.

The event programming is set up differently this year, but Tewell said it’s been easier than he had anticipated.

“I have received a lot of help from my faculty-in-resident Meredith Beilfuss,” Tewell said. “She has been absolutely great helping me and the rest of the RAs in my wing plan out events.

“The wellness model is almost taking care of itself through her help.”

The work of an RA doesn’t stop with event planning. They also have daily duties that include making hallway rounds to complete safety checks and keeping track of campus news and events.

“It’s really hard to balance everything,” Tewell, a pharmacy major, said. “You find out what you have to do and you that done before you get done what you want to do. I’m learning what I have to do and what times I have open to do those types of things.”

Despite the hardships of the job, Tewell seems to be a doing a fine job thus far as an RA, one of his residents, freshman Cole Smith, said

“He is a friend, but almost higher than a friend, because if we need anything, we can come to him,” Smith said. “He looks out for us and makes sure we have everything we need.”

Junior Trisha Wilcox is an RA at Schwitzer Hall and said she too feels being an RA can be difficult.

“Balance is the hardest thing about being an RA, because you have to balance between your personal life and the life of being a resident assistant,” Wilcox said. “They get so intertwined sometimes you cannot separate them.

Your whole life becomes your job, so finding a way to balance that out can be really rough.”

Wilcox is in her second year of being an RA and said she has finally found some effective techniques that allow her to manage the balance between her social life and her job.

“A key to balancing my life is keeping in touch with other staff members and making sure I have an outlet of people to talk to,” Wilcox said. “I make sure I have someone to keep me down to earth.”

Meyer Najem, an Indianapolis construction firm, received the award of excellence from the Associated Builders and Contractors of Indiana for their construction of the environmentally-friendly Phi Delta Theta house on the Butler University campus.

According to phideltatheta.org, the house was a 33-bedroom, 10,000-square-foot project consisting of a complete renovation to the 1929 structure to be the first LEED certified fraternity house in the state of Indiana.

Sam Mishelow, executive vice president of business development at Meyer Najem, explained what it means to be LEED certified and why LEED is an important distinction in the construction field.

“LEED  stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design,” Mishelow said. “The U.S. Green Building Council represents the nation’s foremost coalition of leaders from across the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work.”

The interior was completely gutted back to concrete floors and brick walls to allow for all new interior framing and finishes, including new heating and air conditioning, fire sprinklers and electrical systems.

The entire limestone exterior was patched and repaired, which included the installation of new windows and membrane roofing.

Mishelow said the Phi Delta Theta house was designed to encourage sustainability and utilize renewable resources, while maximizing energy efficiency.

Jeff Beck, senior member of Phi Delta Theta, said he appreciates the eco-friendly approach Meyer Najem took when reconstructing the Phi Delta Theta house.

“Lights [in the house] are on sensors, highly reflective material is used on the roof, a state-of-the art heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning system both heats and cools the house with forced air, eliminating the need for a boiler,” Beck said. “In addition to a sprinkler system and downstairs kitchen, the house includes a room dedicated to the storage of recyclables.

“Outside, high-efficiency cars get the premium parking spaces, which have electrical outlets for hybrids.

Locked and covered bicycle parking is also provided.”

Beck said the only thing missing in the Phi Delta Theta house is the coveted “new house smell,” because the HVAC system uses low-or-no odor materials.

Phi Delta Theta president, junior Mark Minner, said he feels every house on campus is unique and adds its own character to campus, but he said he feels the Phi Delta Theta house stands out from the rest.

“I think the Phi Delt house has a totally different look,” Minner said. “As one of the oldest buildings built on campus in the 1920’s, [it] really stands alone.

“It was coined ‘the castle on the corner’ for that reason, it is a centerpiece to the south end of Butler’s campus.”

Minner said there is nothing about the Phi Delta Theta house he can complain about.

He said his favorite part of the house is the top deck that has, “an incredible view overlooking campus.”

Prior to the recent renovations, no one had occupied the Phi Delta Theta house since 2002.

The actual construction of the house cost approximately $1.7 million and took a little over one year to complete.

October marks the start of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

The information technology department will be sending out safety tips throughout the month to keep students informed and active about online security.

Tyler Johnston from IT said cybersecurity is a multifaceted idea. He said that while there are many potential dangers that online activity can bring, he believes identity theft is one of the most damaging.

“What should be of primary concern is defending against identity theft,” Johnston said. “Identity theft is expensive and time-consuming to recover from, so being aware and defending against it is very important.

“The number one most important thing you can do to be safe online is to protect your personal information and your computer.”

Sophomore Bridget Hays said identity theft crosses her mind when she is shopping online or giving out personal information, but for the most part she said her online activities are more related to social networking.

However, according to the National Cyber Security Alliance, online shopping is not the only situation where identity theft occurs.

Social networks also provide a great venue for identity theft because “the more information you post, the easier it may be for a hacker to use that information to steal your identity or access your data.”

While Hays said she is comfortable using social networks, she is aware of their flaws, and she pays close attention to who can view her profile and what information they can see.

“I usually feel pretty safe because I’ve made sure that my security settings are strict,” Hays said.

Johnston said he agrees that social networks are generally safe for students to use, as long as they follow the proper policies.

“Social networking sites are amazing resources that enable communication with people from all over the world,” Johnston said. “But you must use care when posting and communicating with others.”

Outside of social networking, common problems Johnston said he sees working in IT are issues concerning passwords and viruses.

Johnston said the Help Desk has helped over 180 students with password issues since Aug. 1. Students forgetting passwords or letting them expire is the number one call to Help Desk.

He said another frequent problem the Help Desk runs into are students contracting viruses, usually through a file-sharing software like Limewire. The Help Desk has already helped 90 students this year with virus problems.

While computer problems inevitably occur, by taking just a few simple steps, Johnston said students can greatly reduce their  online risks.

“Keep your computer and antivirus up-to-date, never give out your passwords, regularly back up your files, beware of e-mail phishing scams and think before you post, update your status or share your location,” Johnston said. “And always review your privacy settings on social networking sites.”

For more information, visit www.staysafeonline.org.

Keeping on top of classes can be hard enough for any college student. For those who can find time for activities and interests other than their own, their efforts may receive some deserved recognition.

Every year, Butler University recognizes its best and brightest students by measuring their academic success, service to the community and interest in the improvement and success of the university and their fellow students. Students can be nominated by other University faculty, staff and students.

The Program designed to acknowledge the talent and dedication of students, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

All students who are nominated for the program are given the opportunity to fill out an application to be judged by a panel of faculty from each academic college, student affairs, academic affairs and athletics, as well as other staff members and alumni. These groups judge the first of the two rounds on the process.

Applications are due by Oct. 24.

In the first round, the judging panel selects the “Top 100” from the many nominees.

After the top 100 is selected, those students have the opportunity to move to the second round by submitting their application along with three letters of recommendation to a new judging panel.

This second judging panel is made up of different representatives of the same groups: academic colleges, student affairs, academic affairs, athletics, faculty, staff and alumni.

During the second round of evaluation, the judging panel selects the top 10 Men and top 10 Women from the top 100, as well as selecting the Most Outstanding Man and the Most Outstanding Woman.

At the banquet, each of the top students, the top 10 groups and all top 100 students are honored and recognized, according to Jennie Jones associate director of alumni and parent programs.

The students chosen as recipients of the Most Outstanding Student Award are acknowledged for being admirable students and community members.

“They reflect outstanding character, scholarship, engaged citizenship, leadership and commitment to fostering diversity,” Jones said.

The program specifically looks for students who give back to the university and community unselfishly, who are held in high regards by the administration and who take an interest in continuing to contribute to the success of Butler University after graduation.

Ryan Waggoner, 2010 Butler graduate, was the recipient of the Most Outstanding Man Award last year and was extremely honored to have been nominated and selected as the male winner.

“I was really surprised when they called my name, and I was super caught off guard when they asked me to step forward in front of hundreds of people and give an acceptance speech,” Waggoner said.

Since graduation, Waggoner got married and moved to Malibu, Calif., to attend law school at Pepperdine University.

“I really like California,” Waggoner said. “Law school is hard but interesting. I’ve never worked this intensely in my life.

“Its like finals week at Butler, every week of the year,” Waggoner said. “But, I’m adjusting.”

Waggoner said he and his wife hope to move back to their hometown of Franklin, Ind. because “Indiana is the best state in the country. Believe that.”

Being named to the top 100, not to mention receiving the Most Outstanding Student Award, is one of the most prestigious and honorable awards a student can receive while at Butler University.

“It was really humbling to be recognized in such a meaningful way in front of the best students at the university. It was a storybook ending to a four-year fairy tale that I lived during my time at Butler,” Waggoner said.

Christina Lear, also a 2010 graduate, was  presented with last year’s Most Outstanding Woman Award and said her sister now calls her “the Gordon Hayward of homework.”

“I think the greatest thing about receiving the award is becoming a part of a Butler legacy,” Lear said. “One cool thing about the banquet is that they always print all the previous award winners’ names on the program.  I’m a big Butler history nerd, so I feel really lucky to have my name on that and to be part of Butler tradition.”

Lear said the honor was an excellent way to finish up her already enjoyable college career.

“I really threw myself wholeheartedly into life at this university and tried to leave my mark,” she said. “I would have felt proud of everything I worked for without or without the award, but of course it was nice to be recognized for all my hard work and Butler passion.”

Lear is now working as a corps member for Teach for America and is based at Arsenal Tech, a public high school on the east side of downtown Indianapolis. She is teaching English, reading and advertising, as well as starting on her masters degree in education from Marion University.

“Right now, I am still trying to adjust to my new roles as a teacher and ‘real world’ adult,” she said.  “It is very strange to go from being a college student and still feeling slightly like a kid to suddenly being responsible for the education of 90 teenagers.

“I feel like I grow up years every day.”

Lear, who recently bought a house in Broad Ripple, said she enjoys staying close to her Butler roots.

“Unlike that West coast-dweller Ryan Wagonner, I am only a bike ride away down the canal, so Butler hasn’t seen the last of me,” Lear said. “I actually still use the Butler library all the time to do research for teaching, so some things haven’t changed.”

The top 100 students will be announced on Nov. 29, and the Most Outstanding Man and Woman will be announced April 1, 2011.

It seems the “Butler Bubble” could be starting to burst.

But is this skewed perception, or reality?

This year has been fraught with stories of thefts, break-ins and suspicious persons, leading the staff at The Butler Collegian to question not only our safety, but how much Butler University Police Department is doing to protect us.

After further investigation, it seems that the students, not BUPD, may be the ones that need to be doing more for safety.

We were prompted to examine the real truth about crime and safety on campus after last week’s article in The Collegian, “Peeping Tom raises questions about campus security.”

This came just two weeks after another article about a car theft and theft from a motor vehicle.

It all sounded pretty serious, but is campus crime really up?

Not exactly. While there has been an increase in vehicle thefts and thefts from motor vehicles, total reports to BUPD are down. At this time last year, BUPD had received 217 calls. This compares to just 160 reports this year.

Andrew Ryan, assistant chief of police, said that the increases in these kinds of crime, especially thefts from vehicles, is due in part to students not being proactive about crime prevention.

“If you take away the opportunity for crime, it isn’t going to happen,” Ryan said. “If there is property in plain sight, it takes literally seconds to break in a window and go.

“It has to be a joint effort.”

In an interview for the “peeping Tom” article, Chief of Police Ben Hunter said, “We don’t prevent. Crime occurs. We’re in a position to mitigate and stop crime if it occurs.”

This caught our attention, as it is our opinion that a police department should not only mitigate, but also prevent crime.

However, in a second interview with Hunter, he clarified his meaning.

“You never know what crime will be stopped by a police officer because they stop someone due to suspicious activity,” Hunter said. “But if you are predetermined to commit a crime, you’re going to do it. If you’re going to wait around for
a four-hour span, you’re going to have the opportunity to commit that crime.

“The prevention side of that is us making calls, us being in the neighborhood, us being proactive.” Hunter said BUPD is being proactive by increasing its visibility by making patrol cars more visible at night and making sure the new directional signs on campus list BUPD in red.

“If someone is cruising campus and they see that they go ‘wow, there’s a police department here.’ All those things we do to help mitigate crime,” Hunter said.

Another concern brought forth in the “peeping Tom” article was that BUPD’s priority is to break up parties, not break up crime.

However, Ryan said when there is an incident that is reported, such as a noise complaint from a neighbor, BUPD must respond to that call.

“A couple of weekends ago we had a situation where there were hundreds of people in a home,” he said. “It had to be addressed because there were underage drinkers, they were being loud and there were complaints from the neighbors.

“That takes resources off the streets when you have to take all your officers over there and deal with the situation, but it needed to be dealt with.”

Hunter said students should realize it is almost inevitable that if they have the speakers turned up and “the keg out on the front porch” that someone will likely call in a complaint.

From this, we at The Butler Collegian understand it is our job as students to be responsible when going out on a Friday or Saturday night.

“It really comes down to being vigilant about your surroundings,” Hunter said. “At BUPD, we are trying to be more proactive with our controls.”

We at The Collegian agree. It is important both for BUPD to be visible both on and off campus, but also for we as students to be aware of our surroundings and on the look out for suspicious people or activities.

“Make sure you walk in large groups, make sure you use the BUPD escort service, make sure you drink alcohol responsibly,” Hunter said. “Tag your TVs, record your serial numbers [on electronics], all of that can help prevent crime.”

Hunter said he knows these messages can sometimes get lost in the shuffle of everyday life, but we agree—it is imperative that we not only depend on the presence of BUPD, but that we look after ourselves.

Maybe it’s not the best idea to walk home from the library alone at 1 a.m., and we should probably think twice before leaving our iPods sitting on our front seat.

If we appreciate the presence of BUPD on campus and take simple precautions, we can protect ourselves and campus.