Published 2011-10-04T18:44:00Z”/>

When a group of people saw a pepper spray victim run away from her attacker screaming, they turned around and walked inside.

The second of the pepper spray attacks occurred on Sept. 25, but it took the Chico Police Department four days to publish a press release describing the attacks. Chico State students weren’t warned until a day later, on Sept. 30.

None of these instances are malicious, but they both point to a lack of responsiveness on the part of Chico State’s community.

Our campus moves in time to the hustle of classes, promptings of responsibility and the steps of 16,000 students, each leading in a different direction.

Our schedules don’t mesh, our fields of study can give us tunnel vision and the diversity we celebrate can serve to divide us.

Whoever this criminal is, he or she is literally dividing and preying upon the student body one person at a time. If the two pepper spray assaults on Chico State students are connected, as it appears they are, the attacker is persistent. He or she is singling out female students after dark and assaulting people we know on the streets we take to campus every day.

The attacks mean more than violence acted upon two students – they create an oppressive atmosphere that sabotages the perceived safety of our educational environment, affecting every single student.

Our campus, proudly defined by difference, must distinguish itself with unity in the face of these attacks.

Communication is the key to making sure this attacker doesn’t harm another one of our peers. If you have been assaulted, or have any information that could lead to the capture of the attacker, please come forward and help the police catch this criminal.

Students who haven’t been attacked should take steps to ensure they stay safe. Travel with friends after dark. Carry a taser, or a can of pepper spray. Be aware of your surroundings, and listen to your gut if it tells you something is suspicious.

Our community, the product of varied academic, social, ethnic and religious groups, is under attack. As Chico State students, we cannot turn away from this problem by fleeing into our homes – because this is our home.