During the evening of Jan. 26 several Seton Hall students were approached by four males who were identified as part of the group, God the Mother, and asked to discuss their religious beliefs with the students.
This incident prompted a school-wide email from Public Safety, which highlighted the steps they took to respond to the incident.
The email noted that, “none of the students who reported the encounters said that they were asked to go anywhere or attend any meetings,” in an effort to prevent the spread of misinformation about the group.
Public Safety’s email went on to say that they conducted and completed an investigation into the incident and had come to the conclusion, “that at no time were any students harmed or were they ever in imminent danger.”
Associate Vice President for Public Safety Pat Linfante commented on how Public Safety determined that no students were in any danger saying, “Public Safety interviewed the students who reported being approached by this group. Each of the students indicated that they never were threatened, nor at any time did they feel threatened.”
Linfante went on to say that if students do not feel comfortable on campus they should take action and, “report any suspicious persons activities immediately to Public Safety 973-761-9300.
Remember: “‘If you see something, say something.’”
Undecided freshman Briana Carril said that she “felt scared and unsafe” when she found out that members of God is a Mother were on campus and that she found out about the group from a friend that texted her to be careful after the group was spotted on campus.
Carril continued to say that she did not feel that Public Safety took the issue seriously, “there was no extra security measures taken the next day to ensure the safety of the student body.”
Junior political science major, DJ Schuck disagreed with Carril saying that he felt that Public Safety properly addressed the issue and commented, “I trust that they are doing everything in their power to keep us safe and the fact that they addressed the statement shows they take the situation seriously and understand the concern.”
Shuck said how he heard about the group being on campus stating that he “heard from a bunch of different people within a short time and everyone was just confused” and that upon hearing about the group’s presence he felt, “Uncomfortable because I was unsure about what their intentions are.”
Luke Shreder can be reached at luke.shreder@student.shu.edu.
