Not so Much of a Bubble

I have always joked that Wake Forest is a bubble.

We have two gates on the edges of campus with WFU security guards that lock the gates at 10pm.

You can only get on campus in a car with a Wake Forest ID after 10.

It is also a bubble in the non-literal sense because it is private university with many affluent students.

Wake reminds me of me a lot of my hometown in the sense of security, safety and type of people I go to class with.

With that being said, I have always felt safe.

Occasionally freshman year when I was walking home from the library at 2 in the morning by myself I would feel a bit uneasy, but I knew that I was okay, and I did have the blue light system all around me as I walked home.

I have never felt unsafe until this past weekend.

At one in the morning on Saturday there was a shooting on campus.

There was an intercultural fraternity having a party in the barn on the edge of campus with college students from Wake and Winston-Salem State University.

At one am we got a text alert from school saying that there was an armed gunman on campus and that campus was in lockdown.

That was the scariest text I have ever received.

I was off campus at the time and was told to stay inside and away from campus until it was safe to do so.

During the hour or so I was not allowed to return to campus, the Winston-Salem State student that was shot passed away at the hospital where he was transported after the shooting.

We returned to campus in a bit of a frenzy and disbelief that an armed person had entered our beautiful bubble and disrupted our sanctuary.

We kept receiving alerts saying that the investigation was ongoing and that the shooter had not been found.

I didn’t sleep well that night because I was scared, rightfully so.

I still haven’t been able to sleep well even though the shooting was days ago.

I remember Sandy Hook very clearly as many other horrible acts of terror that have happened over the years. They have all definitely taken its toll on how safe I feel as an individual as well as a member of society.

Acts of terrorism are very scary events and always affected me really deeply. I think part of it has to do with being from New York and hearing about 9/11 ever since I was a little girl.

It is very unsettling that the shooter has not been found, or if he/she has been found we have not been told.

It is very upsetting that my safe, happy and perfect world at Wake was disrupted by a person with the intention of killing.

I know my blog is usually a very happy and positive place to share stories with you about my life, and I’m sad that this is not such a happy story.

I’m sorry if you know me personally and this is how you are hearing about this incident, but I only didn’t tell you to keep you from worrying.

To all the bad publicity this is having on Wake and for all the applicants of Wake, please don’t let this incident change your decision to go to this amazing school!

I know this is a scary incident but unfortunately this seems to be happening just about everywhere these days.

I looked into the safety of the campuses that I applied to and Wake is definitely one of the safest.

We have our own police department on campus, and I know that doesn’t mean much considering we have a crime scene on campus at the moment, but unfortunately there was a fluke in the system and someone lost their life.

I am under the understanding that the WFU Campus police are increasing their patrols and improving our campus security so there are no more incidents like these.

My prayers go out to the family of the boy who died and to everyone at Wake and in the community that has been affected by this horrible crime.

H&M navy blue sweater

American Eagle green jeggings

Tory Burch cheetah Reva flats

J Crew gold tassel earrings (similar)

Baublebar large gold script monogram