When the car accident that took the lives of three University of Arizona students happened on the night of Oct. 30, community members already knew how dangerous that intersection was. Many recalled countless instances of close calls and situations where pedestrians were almost hit by cars. These ordeals illuminated a glaring, systemic failure in how safety is managed on and around our campus.
The tragedy of Oct. 30 only became a fatal incident because certain safety features were absent. This was a preventable loss. Unfortunately, that’s not the only instance of a dangerous situation happening at that intersection. According to KVOA News, a similar car accident occurred on Oct. 10 which prompted a UAlert and the road to be shut down. Students often cite the location as one where the most accidents happen. As noted by a student interviewed by 13 News, students are hit by cars and hospitalized by crossing the intersection.
After the incident occurred, many city halls were hosted to discuss the matter. While it was great that attention was finally being brought to the situation, the full process of putting up street signs and stop lights wouldn’t be complete until next year. Sure, the enlarged signs and bright lights would help, but who knows what else might happen at that intersection between now and the time the repairs are complete? Even as officials claim that plans for the intersection to have a stoplight were already in discussion, it took a tragic incident to accelerate it.
Despite all this, the underlying issue of trust in the university and city responses remain a serious concern for the community. In both the city’s slow reaction to a physical danger and the confusing response to a potential threat on campus, a pattern emerges: officials seem reactive rather than proactive, and the communication surrounding the incidents is often incomplete or delayed. This lack of swift, clear action leaves residents and students alike feeling vulnerable, wondering why preventative measures weren’t already in place or why it takes a moment of crisis to conduct a coherent response plan.
Even with sightings on campus, students are unsure whether or not to trust the information they receive. On Wednesday, Dec. 3, an unknown person was spotted walking near campus with what appeared to be a weapon, but it is unclear. Students on social media stated that the person was spotted walking around Greek Row (between First and Second Street) with the same attire. Eventually, the University of Arizona Police Department posted on Instagram that there was no individual threat to campus. Even if there was no supposed threat, parts of the campus community were sent into lockdown and certain events were cancelled for the evening. For example, in an email sent to students in the Spanish as a Heritage Language Program, Lillian Gorman, the director of the program, cancelled that evening’s ‘Club Bilingue’ due to a “potential campus shutdown”. Although it may seem that the campus would utilize safety protocol to protect students, matters were taken into consideration by staff on campus, and not the higher ups. This course of action may seem suitable, but it potentially leads to confusion and chaos among students.
Regardless of whether or not the incident happened on campus, information circling around social media seemed to be pointing out different narratives. Situations like this can result in confusion and fear, something that we continue to experience while on campus. It’s sad to say this is not the only time this has happened, as a student’s constant fear of safety isn’t being taken into account by officials.
The university and the city cannot wait for the next tragedy to occur before addressing these known dangers. Students want to see change immediately. It shouldn’t take claiming lives and trivializing the safety of students to address safety issues.
