We all remember taking our first campus tour. Our only concern was what there was to do in Monroe on the weekends, and our parents’ main objective was to check the sturdiness of dorm room doors and to become well-acquainted with the university Police Department.

Since then, many of us have had things stolen, been hurt or even known someone who’s been sexually assaulted. Safety has become as much of a concern for us as it was for our dads when they left us on move in day with a Taser and a bottle of pepper spray.

So, when UPD starts enforcing a 24-hour parking policy, students begin to question where the line between safety and making a quick buck is drawn.

Is handing out tickets really worth compromising student safety?

Women shouldn’t be parking across campus from their dorm in the middle of the night, and guys shouldn’t have to risk being mugged on the footbridge returning from a late study session.

If UPD isn’t willing to escort students at all hours and also won’t allow us to park in any area after daylight hours, they should at least be on post outside each building.

And parking outside the library and leaving doesn’t count. We are fully aware there isn’t actually anyone in the vehicle.

As much as we all would like to believe that everyone living, working or even driving through campus has the best of intentions, they don’t.

UPD isn’t to blame for all these common crimes, but they do have to power to protect us from them.

Tickets are only money. Once we scrape up the funds to pay them, they go away. But a stolen sense of safety and security is far harder to replace.