After a meeting called by USC President Harris Pastides last week between Columbia police Chief Randy Scott and USC's top administrators, the university has decided to up its efforts to keep our campus secure and combat crime in a city where crime abounds. 
By collaborating with Columbia police forces and increasing the number of field contacts between USC police and their city counterparts, USC will now see an increased police presence on campus. Both parties aim to share more information with each other in order to keep a shrewd eye on the crime that occurs on USC's periphery.
The move is warranted. Although USC said that no particular incident prompted it, we can't help but feel like the recent late-night assaults, along with the indecent exposure were major factors. For those of us who work or stay out late and traverse campus during the wee hours of the morning, an increase in police presence would increase our feeling of security, and we are grateful for that.
But the new police presence needs to remain focused on preventing violent crime, not accosting students on their way back to their dorms after a night in Five Points. Essentially, we don't want to see the increased police involvement to slowly morph into some sort of Resident Officer system that focuses its efforts on catching students instead of protecting them. While we want to feel secure, we don't want to feel paranoid.
For now though, we hope these measures will make our university a safer place. Or at the very least, make it so that we can safely walk across the Pickens Street Bridge without having to look over our shoulders.