Being a student is difficult enough without having to worry about your safety on campus. What makes it worse is when the person robbing students at gunpoint is another student.

Regardless of the situation, it is always sad to hear of a student being robbed. When the crime is committed on our own campus, it invokes a sense of nervousness and pity for the victim. The news of Saturday’s armed robbery in Harbourt Hall’s parking lot caused a rift in the blanket of security that usually submerges students around campus.

The most disappointing aspect is, in this case, a student robbed another student. In reality, we are all in the same boat. We all have issues, worries, concerns and bills. It is a definite possibility that the crime was committed out of financial need and not sheer boredom. We doubt the students actually stopped to consider they might be taking from someone else sharing similar troubles.

The Kent State University Police Department made two arrests Thursday in relation to the crime committed. A student from the University of Akron has been charged with aggravated robbery, and a Kent State student has been charged with obstruction of justice.

Although we tend to want to “Zap the Akron Zips” during football season, the truth is we are beyond rivalry. It does not matter what school or background or community a person is from, a student-on-student crime is utterly unacceptable.

It is true that the Kent State main campus has had a reported zero, three and four robberies in 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively, according to the Kent State Police website. Sure, the crime rate is rising. Sure, security has changed on campus. Sure, maybe we won’t feel like dead-bolting our residence hall doors or easily trusting people. There are bigger issues at stake.

We need to remind ourselves we are all kindred spirits. We would rather not remember college for the mistakes that permanently change us for the worse. Kent State is a second home and an unforgettable starting place for the rest of our lives.

We don’t want to consider that a person capable of something to this extent could be a fellow student sitting in English class or the Student Center.

We are students, and we should stick together.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.