Now they want us to spy on eachother.

Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 15:53:15 -0500 (CDT)
From: dboren@ou.edu
Subject: Important Message from President Boren
To: donotreply.edu@buchanan.ou.edu

To: All Students

Dear OU Students,

In light of the tragic events that occurred this week at Virginia Tech, I have been reviewing our emergency response plans to ensure that our system is current and effective. Knowing about potentially dangerous behavior is critical to our being able to assess if a threat may be present.

As a student on campus you are in a unique position to notice any unusual or concerning behavior that may pose a threat. Certainly, if you observe any behavior that may constitute a current or imminent threat, immediately contact the University of Oklahoma Police Department
by calling 911.

If you observe unusual behavior that concern you, but does not rise to the level of contacting the police, please discuss your concerns at the earliest possible time with the Vice President for Student Affairs, Clarke Stroud, or the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, Susan Sasso. Both can be reached by calling 325-3161. Any information provided will be appropriately reviewed and a report and recommendation on the matter will be made to me. Please be assured that all information will be handled with the utmost sensitivity and discretion and with all due regard for constitutional and legal safeguards.

We appreciate your continued help and support.

Sincerely,

David Boren

How do you like that? I'm not saying we're on 1984's doorstep, and I'm glad they made specific mention of constitutional and legal safeguards. I am saying that the last thing we need right now is to create an environment of fear and suspicion. If every guy walking down the south oval carrying an umbrella warrants a lockdown, and if you don't recognize somebody's yoga mat for what it is, you're supposed to call student affairs, we're going to have a campus full of unnecessarily scared people wasting the university's time. I supposed only time will tell, but I really, really hope this all just blows over.