On the night of October 2nd, a Loyola junior jumped out of a third story Seton window, fell to the ground, and broke two or three of his lower vertebrae. A lot of people may ask themselves why a person would do such a thing; many may jump to the conclusion of attempted suicide, but, in fact, this was not the case at all. On the contrary, this Loyola junior's intention was as far from suicide as possible: it was self-preservation. After two write-ups, he was facing his third strike and expulsion from Loyola.
So, instead of abiding by the rules and waiting until he turned 21, or at least waiting for his probation to end--that night he went to another Loyola student's 21st birthday party in the Seton residence halls.
At the party, the student had consumed some alcohol. Naturally, when the Loyola Police arrived at the door, he felt it necessary to escape the confines of where, in his mind, he would surely be caught by the authorities.
Instead of choosing a safer route of escape, such as hiding from the LoPo or denying his involvement in drinking activities, he decided to jump out of the third story window and run off to safety.
Once on the ground, however, the injuries he sustained from the fall prevented him from completing the second part of his plan - running away. The school has still not reached a verdict on his case.
A sophomore at Loyola, living in Campion Tower, who had gone to bed early this Friday night, was rudely awakened by the injured student's distressing cries.
According to this student, "He [the jumper] was screaming bloody murder and it seemed like no one got to him for at least five minutes."
After those five minutes, it was not even the Loyola Police or a paramedic that arrived, but another Loyola student who lived in Seton.
The LoPo did not make their way to the injured student until about ten minutes after he had hit the ground and the ambulance arrived twenty to thirty minutes after that. This raises an important question: what were the Loyola Police doing for it to take them so long to arrive at the scene? Since they were, in fact, right inside the Seton residence, they surely must have heard the student's screaming, considering a student within Seton and a student as far as Campion Tower heard it.
How could they let him go on screaming for ten minutes without going out to help him?
Were they so preoccupied with getting the names of and writing up all the students within the party that they would neglect someone that was truly injured and in need of aid? From looking at this distressing case, it seems as though the Loyola Police are more interested in getting students in trouble than they are in protecting them from danger and helping them when they are in need.
While the campus police at most schools try to provide a safe environment for young alcohol users, the Loyola Police seem to try to bust as many students as possible.
While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it seems to be a problem if and when it interferes with their real duties, Also, it creates tension and hostility between the students and the LoPo.
As another sophomore student put it, "It just seems like they're out to get us."
The injured junior did finally make it to the hospital, but after how long? Unfortunately, that's hard to say. It's reasonable for an ambulance that may be coming from far away to take time, but why weren't the Loyola Police, who were right inside Seton, quick to respond to cries that could wake people in Campion? In the end, there is a question looming overhead.
The Loyola University community should, especially after an incident such as this, ask itself what the true purpose of the Loyola Police is. Is it to collect as many write-ups as possible, or to protect the students from danger and help them when they are in need, even if they have committed a wrong?
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