Lately, crime alert emails are as routine as the weekly student activity news.

Starting at the end of February, an alarming number of robberies have been reported, resulting in a series of alerts from VSU. While one was allegedly false and others were determined to occur near university property, this string of robberies has instilled fear in our campus and community.

We at The Spectator have covered this topic exhaustively. Our job is to report the news objectively, to make sure the student body is informed.

With the recent crime alerts, students have the right to be afraid that the campus might not be safe to set foot on.

While these crimes are not in the same echelon as the tragic 2012 murder of Jasmine Benjamin or the 2013 stabbing of Antonie Bray, they still raise the stress level of the VSU populace.

But VSU students should not be afraid when walking out of the dorms, library or anywhere else on campus.

While the email alerts have been numerous lately, there are reasons: it seems the VSU police dept. is doing a better job at reporting these crimes.  To know about crime, you have to be informed.  Even with the robberies that have been determined to not be related or threatening to VSU, students and faculty are getting alerted.

Does the sudden influx of alerts suggest that the crime rates at VSU are increasing, or that simply more crimes are being effectively reported and students are effectively warned?

Crime is a frightful thing. However, students and faculty should not exaggerate that fear.

Instead of focusing on the fear, VSU needs to move forward and focus on how to make the campus safer.

Be mindful when walking through campus at night, walk with a group. In case of emergency, utilize the yellow emergency stations or contact VSUPD.

We have heard these safety tips time and time again, but instead of listening, it is time to employ them.

Crime can happen anywhere. The fear of crime is understandable. However, working to prevent crime is the direction VSU needs to go towards. The alerts are not meant to instill fear, they are meant to inform.