Stop Violence on School Campuses

On October 14, 2009, my son, a freshman college student, was attacked by a gang of students immediately following a school pep rally. My son was transported alone to a nearby hospital by ambulance. The school failed to notify his emergency contacts. My son had to call me himself after spending an hour alone in triage. The hospital he was taken to was unable to handle his severe injuries. He was then transferred and admitted to a trauma hospital where he underwent surgery. His injuries included a broken jaw, broken nose in two places, permanent nerve damage to left side of his face, and missing teeth.

This vicious attack could have resulted in the death of my son, if not for an intervening bystander (WHAT A HERO). I find this appalling because this attack happened in front of a crowd of a 100 people. I contacted the school campus police and asked about video and was told by the officer on duty that the cameras did not work and lighting was also bad on campus. So, we tried another tactic and asked if the school would allow crimesolvers to come and campus to help with the investigation. Again, the school let us down by telling us that the University is a business and that crimesolvers are not welcome.

The learning environment is proven not to be safe, as evidenced by the attack on my son and his resulting injuries. Parents should have the comfort in knowing their children are in a safe learning environment and this brutal attack on my son is sadly reminiscent of the recent attack and murder of the Chicago teenager Derrion Albert.

I would like to know what will the state of Maryland do to ensure the safety of our children on school campuses. There have been some new developments since this attack happened, However, the story gets worse as time goes on.