A loss to the UT Campus

Hello!


I wish I was starting this post off with better news and on a better note but sometimes you can't avoid the bad news.



Today our campus and the Tampa community was dealt a sad hand, one of our cross country team members, Ryan McCall, was killed during an off campus robbery. He was walking home from a night out with friends to his off campus apartment and was robbed and then killed. It is an extremely unfortunate and terrible event especially for those of us that knew him.


I wanted to post something regarding this tragedy not only because he was someone I had mutual friends with and had occasionally hung out with, but also because this is an event that has effected a large amount of students on our campus. This terrible incident was random and in my 3 years at UT is the first of its kind to happen to one of our students. Our campus and the City of Tampa have always been safe havens for me and I have never and will never feel uncomfortable or unsafe on campus or around our campus. The incident took place off campus and I am worried incoming students will get the wrong impression that our campus or the city in general, are unsafe. I love our campus and have loved being apart of such an amazing community for the past 3 years and want more incoming students for years to come to be able to enjoy what I have been able to enjoy. I also don't want students to get the impression that you can't go out anywhere in this area and feel safe. Unfortunately the world we live in isn't perfect and if you choose to go out in any town, you have to know your surroundings and be aware of what is going on around you. Take a look around the community where you live, make note of the areas you would want to go out in and the areas you might not want to go near. I will continue to go out at night to my favorite restaurants and bars but I know I will be more aware of my surroundings. I will spend the extra $3 to take the cab home, and I will always always make sure my friends do the same.



Please take a look at a few of these links, one is a memorial page with pictures the athletics department made for Ryan's family and friends and the other is a link to our security page:



http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Tampa-FL/University-of-Tampa-Athletics/96837484241?ref=mf

http://www.ut.edu/safety/






Always remember to be safe, be aware of your surroundings, and use common sense. Ryan will be very missed but will be a reminder to us all to make everyday your greatest!