After campus shootings, safety is a priority for students, police

By Karyn Cook and Holly Rodriguez

Recent murders at universities across the country have campus officials and students more cautious about campus safety.

On Feb. 13, three students were killed and five others injured during a mass shooting on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing.

On Nov. 13, 2022, a shooting at the University of Virginia left three student football players dead after a gunman unleashed gunfire on a bus returning from a field trip.

Earlier that same day, four students were stabbed to death in an off-campus home located near the University of Idaho campus in what police have described as an “an isolated, targeted attack.”

In a video released Jan. 17, UVA. President Jim Ryan said the university is working on what internal changes need to be made to increase campus safety, but also looking to the Virginia General Assembly for help. “We are working at the state level for legislative changes that would make Virginia colleges and universities safer.”

UVA spokesperson Brian Coy said the university has “made changes to how our threat assessment team works, we’ve increased security presence around our grounds, and we are actively participating in an independent review that we expect will result in additional recommendations for how to keep our community safer.” The review is expected to be complete by late spring or early summer.

Malaysia Jones, a first-generation college student in her first year at Virginia Union University, is studying physics and computer engineering. Ms. Jones said campus alerts and tightened security at VUU in the wake of several mass shooting incidents throughout the country have helped ease some of her concerns.

“Overall, I feel safe on campus — Virginia Union has enforced stricter rules and curfews when it comes to parties or late-night activities,” she said. “They also still have security 24/7 just in case an incident happens.”

However, Ms. Jones believes more than increased security is needed to help students.

“Mental health days and counseling should be promoted more around campus,” she said. While Ms. Jones said the university is doing a good job to keep her safe, she has developed safer habits herself.

“I reach out to my family for weekly check-ins, share my location with my roommate and close friends, and make sure I check my email to see any updates on safety protocols.”

“Like everyone, we were saddened by the tragedy in Charlottesville, and are looking forward to the outcome of the investigation,” said Robert E. Cottrell, chief of the Virginia Union University Police Department. “While there are currently no known threats to our campus community, we continually evaluate our safety protocols and make changes to help increase safety and awareness.”

Like most colleges and universities, VUU has a mass notification system, called Omnilert, with information and instructions during emergencies. The police chief also said in the last year, Dr. Hakim J. Lucas, VUU president, worked with Gov. Glenn Youngkin to secure funding to increase security measures on campus. A threat assessment team is being organized to evaluate complex situations involving potentially at-risk students. Firearms are already prohibited on campus, and the university is increasing the availability of mental health services for students, staff and faculty.

Jamal SamuelsMadagu is a recent graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University who studied homeland security and emergency preparedness. Mr. Samuels-Madagu is saddened by the repeat gun violence across America.

“It’s awful what happened at UVA. and it’s another senseless act of violence,” Mr. Samuels-Magadu said.

“These shooters are becoming normalized, and I hate that it’s something that we must just accept.”

He believes that VCU has done a good job at keeping students alert and notified and has made proactive efforts since the events at UVA and the University of Idaho.

“VCU sent out alerts to notify us what was going on at UVA and kept us in the loop, and also increased police presence on campus.”

VCU Police Chief John Venuti said police officers receive training, and train with local, state and federal law enforcement partners to be prepared to address threats. In addition to a multichannel system for emergency communications known as VCU Alert, a page on the police department’s website walks any visitor on the site through steps to maintain safety if an active shooter is on campus.

“The department’s top goals for academic year 2022-23 are to increase the visibility and deployment of officers, increase engagement with community members and to be relentless in our follow-up on all incidents,” Chief Venuti said.

A. White (who asked that her first name not be used) is a student at Virginia State University studying secondary education.

“Campus safety is one of our biggest issues to be honest, including gun violence, sexual assaults, and other things,” she said. Past events have left her unsatisfied with campus security. “They don’t communicate enough to the students, or they are delayed, leaving students worrying,” she said. “In September, a man was walking around campus with a fake rifle scaring people and they took hours to act.” Ms. White also cited an incident where a man was seen holding a gun and students were not notified until hours after the event.

Gwen Williams Dandridge, assistant vice president for communications at VSU, said weapons of any type are banned on the VSU campus and any student found to violate this policy faces disciplinary action, including suspension. Regarding incidents of rape, in compliance with the Clery Act, she said all sexual assault incidents are reported. A seminar about sexual assault and protection is a part of student orientation and faculty and staff are given “a high-intensity rape aggression training class,” that includes a self-defense component.

Ms. White offered suggestions to better ensure student safety. “Increasing security in residence halls and campus apartments and hiring more non-student adult staff for residences would help,” she said.

Ms. Dandridge added, “We have taken significant security measures to abate the potential for additional crimes on campus.” Some of those measures include additional police officers on patrol in populated residence hall areas and at off-campus and non-university owned apartments in Ettrick; working with Chesterfield County to provide additional officers for on-campus patrol; purchasing tower cameras for high-volume areas; use of drone surveillance units through the school’s law enforcement partners; and encouraging students, faculty and staff to be vigilant in contacting the police to report any incident of suspicious activity, she said.