Adopt the students from UC Merced

It’s disheartening to read about an incident like the one which happened to the two students from UC Merced. After all, when they come to our community, in a way, we became responsible for their safety.

In short, we need to adopt these students, just as we would have other communities adopt our children, if they enrolled in universities in their town.

It is not enough to say, that these are adults, and they should not have been on the street at 4 a.m. in the morning. We can’t put a curfew on college students.

However, we can ride shotgun to see that they are not being hurt. We can emphasize the importance of police protection and getting the gangs and guns off the street.

The shots which were fired at these students are a wake-up call. We need to be more vigilant. Not only do we need neighborhood watch programs, but we need downtown watch programs. 

We felt that walking and bike riding patrols were a good thing for downtown when they were in force.  We also feel that surveillance cameras for active areas in town are a must. 

Our community also needs to invite these students into our clubs and organizations, our churches and our homes. Feed them food and feed them food for thought.
While many of them may be smarter than we are, they have not lived as long and they do need our help.

UC Merced and Merced College also need our help. Connecting with the community is a top priority. We are not separate islands and we don’t want to be. 

This newspaper has encouraged one open monthly meeting of the heads of the University, College, City and County and the presidents of the Student Bodies.  These meetings should discuss issues like student safety and how it can be improved. 

This is not only a police problem. It is everyone’s problem. The answers need to come from the community as a whole. 

It is imperative that we show the parents of these students that we take the safety of their children seriously and as our personal responsibility. The parents need to know that they have just not cast their children into a valley wilderness to fend for themselves. 

We are their caretakers, whether they like it or not. 

It’s our job to see that they are safe.