In the quiet southern New Jersey town of Glassboro, located just 30 minutes away from the heart of Philadelphia, Rowan University student Donald Farrell was spending an ordinary night with friends on campus. He and his friends were heading to an X-Press Food Mart convenience store down the street from the school-and never came back.

Farrell was brutally beaten by a random group of men in the convenience store parking lot, after the group of men asked Farrell where they could find a nearby party. Farrell was robbed of his cell phone, and his friends promptly called 911 for help. Once the call was made, it was already too late.

Once Public Safety and an ambulance arrived, Farrell, a sophomore, was pronounced dead at the scene. It was only 9 p.m.

Just think of all the times Hofstra students walk on campus after a late-night class. Think of grocery runs to Dutch Treats, our campus convenience store, at odd hours of the morning. Seemingly, Farrell was doing everything right-he walked in a well-lit place with a group of friends to the store down the block. Some say the incident was a robbery gone wrong. Others called for stronger campus security.

The same security crackdown should be happening here.

Last Wednesday, a public safety alert was placed under resident students’ doors shortly after a crime occurred a quarter mile west of campus. Two students were walking to their off-campus home at 1:15 a.m. and were approached by two unidentified armed males. The students were unharmed, but the men demanded their valuables.

Again, just think of the times when cars don’t swipe into campus past 10 p.m. Think of when groups of students get past sleepy Resident Safety Representatives (RSRs) in the towers. At this time last year, a University student was pistol-whipped in Nassau hall after a gunman got past security without presenting ID.

These situations may seem small, but can make a huge difference between keeping students safe and leaving the door wide-open for crime.