OUR VIEWS Consensus Opinion

No laughing matter

The Georgia Tech Police Department (GTPD) is a fairly visible presence on campus and therefore an unsurprising target for pranks. Tech has a long history of pulling pranks, from stealing Ts to foaming the fountains, but these practical jokes do not threaten others. This week's arson of a GTPD patrol car was far from a harmless prank, however. Pranks cease to be harmless amusements when they hurt people, and this arson potentially could have been much worse, resulting in injury to either police officers or students.

Although this crime may have seemed like a good release of energy, it is nothing more than that-a crime. There is never any benefit to intentionally hurting or threatening another person, institution or their property.

There is already an excessive number of break-ins and thefts on campus, whether they occur in dorms or to vehicles, and adding arson to the list of crime on campus simply serves to make Tech an even more unsafe environment, and the fact that the people making our campus unsafe are often our own students is disheartening and distressing.

While it would be ideal if these crimes stopped, students should be aware that they will most likely continue and should therefore take appropriate precautionary measures, from using bike locks to knowing the GTPD's phone number. Any suspicious behavior should be reported to GTPD, which, regardless of what recent arsonists may think, does a good job of protecting Tech and its students.

Growing family

This past weekend's Family Weekend included 2,106 participants, an increase from last year's 1,508. Although the increase is probably due to the larger size of this year's freshman class and the recent success of the football team, it is still nice to see so many parents showing an interest in their students-even if the campus did seem to have the same general atmosphere as a PTA meeting.

While Family Weekend may primarily be beneficial to first-year students who are still in the phase when they want to share their college experience with their parents, it attracted 200 high school students as well. Between the game day atmosphere and the extensive itinerary of events scheduled for the weekend, Tech did a impressive job of attempting to recruit potential students. Events such as the movie screening in Yellow Jacket Park were especially effective for keeping younger siblings entertained and giving them a taste of the fun part of college.