Welcome home, Georgetown. We hope you all had a great summer break, but now it’s time to get back to work – that goes for the administration and Department of Public Safety, as well.When we left for vacation, DPS was unfortunately already on vacation. This became clear after the slew of crimes on campus, including an armed sexual assault that left the credibility of the department in desperate need of repair. With the hiring of new DPS Director Jeffrey Van Slyke and the start of a new school year, the university has the opportunity to make real improvements in regards to student safety. Van Slyke comes to Georgetown from the University of Mississippi and University of Texas with an impressive résumé and has a real chance to improve several key areas that the old guard failed to address:DPS needs to become more transparent in its operation. Sometimes, a crime alert e-mail several hours after the fact just doesn’t cut it. When a serious crime occurs on campus, students have a right to the story in more than the two sentences usually comprising a DPS e-mail. But Darryl Harrison and company were notorious for avoiding tough questions with THE HOYA and other media outlets. Van Slyke should keep in mind that the old adage is true – knowledge is power. Sharing information with the student body is the way in which DPS can best empower the students to protect themselves. Thus, we ardently hope Van Slyke is more accommodating to the student press and more committed to informing students of threats to their safety than Harrison was.DPS also needs to reassess its crime priorities. We live in a city. A crime-ridden city. One of the most dangerous cities in the United States. So it should be no surprise that there are more pressing issues on campus than a keg party in Nevils. If it is the case that DPS does not have enough staff to both secure our dorms and police parties, the former should be a far greater priority. We understand that breaking up parties is part of their job description, but until Georgetown’s corridors are truly safe for our students to roam free of molestation, it borders on negligence to choose to focus on such petty infractions when there are far graver concerns remaining to be dealt with.The administration must also play a role in improving campus safety by properly supporting DPS. DPS officers deserve better wages and Georgetown students deserve better trained officers. It’s no secret that Georgetown can be a dangerous place. Criminals can walk right on to campus and often lurk immediately off campus. But for potentially dealing with armed robbers or muggers or a rowdy mob on campus (as was the case in 2006 when three DPS officers and one student were hospitalized), DPS officers have been paid far less than their George Washington University and American University counterparts. There is no price on student safety, and we hope the administration will support Van Slyke by enabling him to put well-trained and well-equipped officers on the force.Safety shouldn’t just be another priority, it should be the number one priority. During this upcoming year we must all keep a watchful eye to make sure that the proper measures are being taken. Georgetown students deserve a safer home, and we believe that the administration and DPS have the power to give us one.”