tears for a city not yet lost

Last Friday night, while on my Sea to Sea trip, my friend Jamie pulled me aside. I thought it was strange, she looked so serious and for the life of me I couldn't think why. Delicately, she told me that our mutual friend Amy heard there had been a shooting in Binghamton but that she had no more information then that. Shocked, a felt a cool chill run down my spine and in my loss for words it seemed to be as if the entire room had become deathly quiet. My thoughts jumped to all my friends, students, RA's, faculty, staff... were they okay? Had one of my friends, God forbid, been hurt? Composing myself, I pulled over two of my friends who also attend Binghamton and together we decided two things: the first, because it was Shabbat and we were restricted from using electricity, to not even try and dig up more information till the following sundown. There was nothing we could do from a small town in northern Israel anyway. The second decision we made was not to inform our fourth friend from Binghamton, we knew it would hit her hard and we thought it better if she enjoy the Shabbat and then we'd deal with it when we more information. Well she found out. Unlike the rest of us, who were crying on the inside, she had the courage to wear her heart on her sleeve and shed actual tears.
We were all shocked and scared, none of us truly knowing to do. Our fourth friend, after a group hug and a promise that all of our friends were okay, went to bed. The rest of us simply to tried to keep on living. As the evening wore on, a number of our friends, non-orthodox, took the incentive call home. They found out a bit more information and passed it on. We all inhaled deeply as some level of comfort embraced the night.
Was it wrong that we felt relief knowing it wasn't on our campus? Did we commit some primordial sin, caring for life only if it effected us directly? These questions didn't plague me then, but slowly they seem more and more relevant. Only an hour ago I read the following article. The author is a friend whos time in Binghamton was spent in a position that, in my eyes, placed him at a junction between the student body and the community. While it isn't outright critical of the student body and the citys lack of involvement with one another, it does point out a topic that has concerned me since freshman year. We are disconnected from one another. The students view the locals as hicks and the locals view the students as trouble makers. While Prestons ideas are excellant, the problem arises when confronted with implamentation. As I already stated, the problem is two sided, with neither party bearing the entirety of the blame. Sitting here contemplating the problem I think I have a more active foundation for a solution then hoping that professors will encourage community interaction. Perhaps my solutions are unrealistic, but I'm not one to talk in vague terms and I feel that the actions of the University in the coming months will speak louder then any of its words.
At Binghamton we have a course entitled "FYE: First Year Experience". The purpose of this course is to assist first semester freshman in their transition to college. It focuses on various aspects of college life and the many struggles that people face during their four years of higher education. At this point in time, it is my view that this course only assists in sealing students within the bubble of collegic life. If the program were to embrace a few minor changes, it could start chipping away at the wall between student and southern tier resident. Involving these students with local families or businesses from the outset of their college carreer will make them feel they have more of a stake in local occurences. My second idea focuses on CCPa, the College of Community and Public Affairs. This is the college withing BU that educates our students interested in Human Development, Student Affairs etc. The school needs to create a three year minor or focus. Starting in Sophmore year, this minor will actually place students in the community by taking a community focused class in the fall semesters of Sophmore, Junior and Senior year and by having "in the community" internships in the spring semesters of said years.
I don't know, maybe I'm thinking too far ahead or getting too specific, but I think my main point is that the students can only do so much without a more involved administration and city government.