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EDITORIAL: Where do we go from here?
State Hornet Staff
Issue date: 10/28/09 Section: Opinion
Scott Hawkins. Quran Jones. These names are now burned into the annals of Sacramento State.
Hawkins is dead. Jones, the suspect in the death of Hawkins, lies in a hospital bed after being shot by campus police in the suite he and Hawkins shared in the American River Courtyard residence hall.
In a span of roughly 30 minutes on Oct. 21, the incidents involving these two young men turned our university upside down.
As time progresses from those moments and we as a community try to make sense of this tragedy, it seems that all we are left with are questions.
What exactly happened in that suite that day?
If Jones did what he is suspected of, what made him freak out, beat his suitemate to death and attack police officers?
And the one we may never find the answer to: Why?
As University Police Chief Dan Davis told the news media at a press conference Friday, "I want to know the 'why' as bad as all of you. We all want to know 'why.'"
And in the coming days and weeks, as we find the answers to what exactly happened and possibly why it happened, will we ever be able to make sense of it?
Probably not. These seemingly random tragedies are a sad part of the journey that is life.
This brings us to perhaps a more immediate and important question.
It is reflected in a statement made to The State Hornet by Gerald Hawkins on his son Scott's time at Sac State.
"He liked how peaceful it was, how safe he felt there," Gerald Hawkins said.
So, are we safe?
The simple answer is yes. We are as safe as we can be at any given moment of any given day.
As both President Alexander Gonzalez and Davis have assured us, this was a "random and isolated incident."
The Hornet can attest to the validity of this statement.
Two of the Hornet's top three editors arrived at the American River Courtyard at the same time as the Sacramento Fire Department.
We found a scene that seemed to be completely under the control of campus police. Neither editor felt at any time that he nor anyone else in the vicinity was in danger.
Hawkins is dead. Jones, the suspect in the death of Hawkins, lies in a hospital bed after being shot by campus police in the suite he and Hawkins shared in the American River Courtyard residence hall.
In a span of roughly 30 minutes on Oct. 21, the incidents involving these two young men turned our university upside down.
As time progresses from those moments and we as a community try to make sense of this tragedy, it seems that all we are left with are questions.
What exactly happened in that suite that day?
If Jones did what he is suspected of, what made him freak out, beat his suitemate to death and attack police officers?
And the one we may never find the answer to: Why?
As University Police Chief Dan Davis told the news media at a press conference Friday, "I want to know the 'why' as bad as all of you. We all want to know 'why.'"
And in the coming days and weeks, as we find the answers to what exactly happened and possibly why it happened, will we ever be able to make sense of it?
Probably not. These seemingly random tragedies are a sad part of the journey that is life.
This brings us to perhaps a more immediate and important question.
It is reflected in a statement made to The State Hornet by Gerald Hawkins on his son Scott's time at Sac State.
"He liked how peaceful it was, how safe he felt there," Gerald Hawkins said.
So, are we safe?
The simple answer is yes. We are as safe as we can be at any given moment of any given day.
As both President Alexander Gonzalez and Davis have assured us, this was a "random and isolated incident."
The Hornet can attest to the validity of this statement.
Two of the Hornet's top three editors arrived at the American River Courtyard at the same time as the Sacramento Fire Department.
We found a scene that seemed to be completely under the control of campus police. Neither editor felt at any time that he nor anyone else in the vicinity was in danger.
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