Welcome to the real world - and we're not talking about the MTV supposed reality program. This is the place were life is usually safe and peaceful while the threat of danger sometimes lurks around the corners.
Late Thursday, that danger leapt out at James Madison freshman Jonathan Martone after he opened his Case Hall room door to two men he thought to be charity workers. After being asked to look at a pamphlet, Martone said he quickly found he had a knife to his throat.
Thankfully, Martone's roommate returned to his sixth-floor room in time to terrorize the intruders and botch the robbery attempt.
In response to the incident, Case Hall officials are locking down the building at 9 p.m. instead of midnight while police continue to look for the intruders.
MSU President M. Peter McPherson said he was concerned following the attack. However, he acknowledged similar incidents have been sparse. MSU police reported two robberies in residence halls in 2001 and none in 2000.
While we sympathize with the James Madison freshman who experienced the robbery attempt and are glad to see he came out of the situation safely, asking the university to lock down its dorms 24 hours a day is a hasty request.
And frankly, locking down one dorm at 9 p.m. instead of midnight doesn't help much either.
Martone could have been any college freshman or dorm resident whose general sense of security in MSU's residence halls make them trust any knock on the door.
Housing officials also say 24-hour dorm lockdowns are not a viable option for MSU because of the number of classrooms and offices that need to be accessible to the university community each day.
That sense of safety is a testament to MSU's safety efforts. Despite Thursday's attack, there is no reason to jump to conclusions that the university needs to lock its residents in to protect them.
But in the same spirit, the continued call for peepholes and chain locks in all MSU dorm rooms should be louder.
It is nobody's fault a James Madison freshman was held at knifepoint. The world is full of random dangers that can circumvent any protection measures. While MSU officials should continue to look for ways to improve safety, drastic measures are not needed.
Students should be reminded to always lock their doors and not open them to people claiming to be solicitors for charity groups or other organizations as that foot traffic is prohibited from residence halls.
The dangers of the real world are only a deadbolt away.
