This has been a tumultuous semester. Sexual assaults, student deaths, athlete misconduct and accusations of racism are just a few of the events that have rocked our community in the past five months.

While some of these incidents have led to inspiring shows of solidarity, others have only caused more divisiveness. And the very fact that these things occurred is a sign that Penn State has a long way to go as a community. Crimes are a seemingly unavoidable phenomenon. On the surface, they are. We as a community cannot prevent an individual from deciding to commit a crime. But we can prevent the climate that contributes to these crimes.

We can create an environment that does not foster violence against women by separating sexuality from humanity.

We can curb the excessive drinking that often contributes to violent situations.

We can make it clear that no one is above the law, not even those who wear Nittany Lion football jerseys.

We can realize that hate and racism should have been erased from our community decades ago.

And most of all, we can finally learn the lesson that even if we disagree, we have to live together. Beyond anything we can learn in the classroom, perhaps the most important lesson students take away from their college experience is how to interact with their fellow human beings in a way that is not only peaceful, but also productive.

Throughout our lives, we will be thrown into situations in which we have to deal with people who are different from ourselves -- even people we are offended by.

With more than 40,000 people, Penn State can serve as a useful microcosm for these types of situations. Courses, student organizations and even parties present students with an opportunity to learn to deal with people with diverse ideas. Accepting difference is not a fanciful ideal. If we want to accomplish anything as a community, we have to stop hurting each other.

We cannot do any of the innovative and creative things we are all capable of if we cannot get past the very basic level of human interaction.

Let's stop the "wrong" in this community and start to make things better.

Eventually, maybe we can make it the best. Time will tell.