On Wednesday Oct. 7, I was walking around campus and quickly noticed a peculiar and troubling flyer. In large font it reads, “Have you seen this person?” with an image of a young man, presumably a student at the University of Minnesota. One would think it was about a person legitimately missing. But upon further reading, it becomes clear that the person pictured is hoping a very specific woman knows who he is. Apparently, they met at a concert, and she walked away from him without giving him any identifying information, besides maybe a comment about going to the University. Although I hope that this woman is looking for him, too, I am going to guess that this is not the case. Now, imagine if you were that woman on campus and you are going to class and realize that the campus is littered with flyers pleading that you call him. How safe would you feel? For most men, feeling unsafe on campus or in any public space is a foreign concept. For women, unfortunately, we know the feeling all too well.

It is troubling that our campus has flyers posted that are potentially making one woman extremely upset and sending a horrible message to the rest of the young, female student body. If a young man meets you at a bar, club or concert and you walk away uninterested, you should not have to worry.