The term “creeper” is thrown around a lot in our society.
Even looking for a logical definition is hard to do.

Either being that person who stalks you on Facebook that randomly added you from that one party, or that kid in class who you see skimming girls profiles looking at pictures, the term “creeper” best defines these people.

The true definition of a creeper in my mind is derived from the term “creep” and means a person who is weird or disturbed.

That is a definition that strikes the Shippensburg community really hard.
In fact, the police have just last August caught the “Shippensburg Creeper” Michael Claudy after years of terrorizing female students on campus.

How could a man go an entire decade without getting caught?
It makes you wonder how we have so many people being labeled as “creepers” yet not so many behind bars.

Safety is a huge issue when it comes to the world today.
Compared to when my parents grew up, it seems like every neighborhood is straight out of Compton. From break-ins, to rapes, to murders, to Peeping Toms, this country is seeing a rapid growth in crime.

We might have just caught one “creeper” but in my mind, there are more to come.
In my 21 years on Earth, I have come to the realization that there are a lot of screwed up people in the world.

I know I like to look at the ladies, but seeing the way some older men look at the same women I am makes me wonder what is truly going through their mind.

To the girls they would be “creepers,” but I think of it as male bonding.

Yet, when that man decides he wants to look at that same woman from a tree outside her bedroom through high-powered binoculars and some lotion, then I start to worry a little bit.
I am sure he could have secretly trained someone on his “creeping” skills, but I think that he acted alone.

In a setting like around a university, it is hard not to find some deranged man who likes stalking young women.

When the country pushes sex as much as it does, then you end up with these twisted men coming out of the woodwork. They could have had prior mommy issues that cause them to act the way they do, or they could have faced an insurmountable amount of rejections that they feel this is how they get revenge.

It is something that we cannot fight.
All we really can do is watch each other’s backs and inform the cops when you see a 45-year-old man standing outside the women’s dormitories at 1 a.m.

These men are “creepers,” and that will always be the true meaning behind the name.
They can be anyone from our friendly neighbor, to the milkman and we will never really be able to tell.

We can not classify every little Facebook “creeper,” so it is impossible to profile a real life “creeper.”
All we can do is practice safe measures when we go out at night, and make sure that our women are kept safest of all.

Walk in pairs, sleep with a night light or the TV on, lock all your doors and never listen when someone says they have free candy in their van.

If another one comes along, let us just make sure he does not get to last an entire decade.
When you see something suspicious, do not be afraid to act on it. Instead, build awareness of it.