After the fires on Oct. 13, many important questions remain regarding Sacramento State’s response to the emergency, not the least of which is why the Emergency Notification System was not activated.

These questions have me wondering: Who is responsible for safety decisions on this campus and why are they seemingly so ineffective at their job?

Now, according to The State Hornet, we have a campus spokeswoman stating, “…a text message alert did not go out because there was no imminent danger” in regards to the fires. Really? Who made that determination?

Three fires break out in three separate areas of campus, including two buildings full of students, within 25 minutes of each other and there is no imminent danger?

Even if there is no conclusive evidence the fires were arson, the number and timing should lead any reasonable person to believe them suspicious. With this in mind, how did the decision makers know there was no threat to additional structures or to students specifically? The short answer – they didn’t.

If there was a fire in many of the buildings, any form of panic situation could prove disastrous due to the narrow pathways between desks clogged with backpacks and other personal items. For this reason, the campus safety personnel should make every effort to inform students and faculty immediately when an emergency arises on campus.

For the campus spokeswoman to laud the postings on Facebook and Twitter as some form of positive step is at the very least irresponsible.

I believe most would agree they would accept inconvenience of false alarms over injury or death.

The primary reason for this is we are not supposed to be tweeting or scanning our Facebook during class. Also, unlike many of my fellow students, I am respectful of my professors and fellow students and turn my phone OFF during class.

The bottom line is we need people who rely less on social media and more on common sense when it comes to campus safety. I am willing to sit down and discuss this with any of the public safety officials at Sac State. Unfortunately, I do not know who they are.

Aaron Hebb, senior history major