Deadly Violence on CUSU

Normal Day on Campus

Tuesday morning started like any other normal weekday, students were scrambling to get to class on time and going about their regular business. Unknown to anyone, life on campus was soon to change for a select few. In the new dormitory on the CSUS campus, a deadly beating took place between two roommates. 23-year-old Scott Hawkins passed away Tuesday afternoon shortly after being transported to the hospital after Quran Jones allegedly beat him with a baseball bat, as of now, there are no leads as to why this took place.

Things are Looking a Little Different

While walking through campus on Wednesday afternoon with Lynnie Hiratzka, a credential student ; campus seemed a bit eerie . Not many students were moving around campus and the parking lots were scattered with news vans. "I can't believe something like this would happen on campus, how could someone attack their suite-mate?". This seems to be the common question around campus. Know one knows the exact reason why the "incident", as President Gonzalez calls it, occurred. As a student who lived in the dorms at one time, Hiratzka was quite shaken up about the beating. "I would not want to stay in the dorms anymore, I don't think I would feel safe." Even though it was an isolated event, it has left many feeling uneasy. Hiratzka expressed as well that you never truly know your roommates when you are paired up by staff on campus.

What We Have Lost

Unlike other acts of violence on college campuses, there were no traces of ribbons or vigils to be seen around the dorm on Wednesday afternoon. "It's so sad to see that everyone is carried up in all the drama of the incident and no one is mourning the loss of a fellow student" said Hiratzka. What was so different about this act of violence, was it because it was and isolated incident? Campus officials seemed to be responding to the emotional need of students and provided councilors in the dormitories.

"It was said that Hawkins' had Asperger's disease and that he had been targeted in the past." Hiratzka was saddened to hear that someone like this would be a target for a crime. Individuals with Asperger's tend to have extensive vocabulary along with formal speech patterns, but will most likely need training in social skills.