After the single-targeted shooting at Purdue University, DePauw students and staff realized that they could experience the same kind of tragedy in Greencastle.
"I think the scary part about [a shooting happening] at Purdue is that it is in such close proximity to us," said Amanda Volel.
Although gun violence could happen at DePauw, safety measures for such an event are not often talked about on campus.
"There are things posted in every building about what to do if there is a shooter or something, but I don't think we talk about it," said Professor Eric Edberg. "Sometimes I think it would be good if we planned for it a little more explicitly."
Although there is no way to fully prevent a shooting, students and staff agree that issues such as mental illness and violence need to be discussed more on our campus.
"There is a huge stigma as far as mental health on campuses, especially at private institutions, where we don't talk about mental health issues and the things that might be triggering certain people," said Volel. "How do you treat an issue that's so stigmatized on a campus?"
American gun control policies are another issue involved with the conversations about preventing gun violence. The Second Amendment allows all U.S citizens to bear arms, and a Supreme Court decision in 2008 (District of Columbia v. Heller) ruled that the Constitution protects a citizen's right to own a gun for personal use. Despite the Second Amendment, DePauw is able to prohibit all possession and use of firearms and weapons on campus because it is a private university. Such a ban is stated in the student handbook.
"I understand the 'guns don't kill people, people kill people' but people kill people with guns," said Edberg. "You can't kill a bunch of people [at once] with a plastic knife."
Many students consider DePauw a close community where a shooting like the one at Purdue wouldn't happen, but the single targeted shooting that happened at Purdue drove home that such an incident at DePauw is possible.
"I think that as a community we have a better chance of preventing this from happening if everyone has a sense that this is possible," said Angela Nally, head of Public Safety.