Letter to Students about Ferguson Situation

Students

The events in Ferguson over the past week have received national attention and many people are nervous about what is happening. Though the center of activity is several miles from our school, no doubt some of you may still feel a little uneasy.

I want to personally assure you that we will remain vigilant and pro-active to make sure you and everyone on campus remains safe and secure. Through the years we have been blessed to maintain a good relationship with local law enforcement. In fact, police will often patrol this area and drive around our campus to show us and our community that they are actively watching out for us.

As I stated during orientation, we are presently updating the security features of our campus. Yesterday, we began the installation of our new door entry devices. This should be completed soon. We are still waiting on the shipment of our new security cameras and hope to have them installed in the near future.
We all can work together to make sure our campus remains secure as possible:

  1. If you notice an outside door propped open, close it.
  2. If you notice any suspicious activity on campus, dial 911.
  3. Please email me with any concerns: jmcclintock@ugst.edu

Again, I don’t anticipate anything happening on our campus due to the situation in Ferguson, but we should still choose to remain vigilant. I would also ask that any social media activity remain positive. We all know that negative conversations can feed fear. Part of the problem in Ferguson is the way media has fueled negativity and endless speculation. Let us remain positive and speak peace.

This situation is unfortunate. Though I have lived other places, St Louis has been my home off and on for around 24 years. This is a great city and is the home of many wonderful people. In fact, the majority of Ferguson residents are good people who are simply trying to take care of their families and live honest lives. Unfortunately, many of the protagonists in this past week’s riots are actually individuals from outside St. Louis. Sadly, their actions have painted St. Louis in a very negative light. Let us pray for a quick and just resolution to this tragic situation.

God is still on the throne and we will continue to trust Him for peace and protection.

Sincerely
Jonathan McClintock
Dean of Students