Breanna Stewart
MC Contributor/Staff Writer
There have been 23 shootings on college campuses in the United States in 2015.
On Oct. 1, the deadliest shooting of the year took place at Umpqua Community College in Rosenberg, Ore. The casualty count, a staggering 13 deaths; 20 other students and faculty members suffered non-life threatening injuries in the attack.
In the “Magnolia State”, on Sept. 13, 45-year old online geography professor, Shannon Lamb, shot and killed his live-in girlfriend, Amy Prentiss, of Gautier, Miss., before murdering Delta State University colleague, Ethan Schmidt, on the university’s premises, just one day later on Sept. 14. Lamb would commit suicide.
Jackson State has had its on issues with crime on campus. On Sept. 24, a student was at the roundabout on Prentiss and Lynch Street in an attempted robbery, and on Oct. 8, JSU campus police were involved in a high-speed chase with an SUV, which ended after the vehicle crashed in front of the Hinds County Courthouse in Downtown Jackson.
With the rise of domestic terrorism reaching its peak in 2015, campus safety is a concern for both students and administrators alike, prompting school officials around the country to reassess current resources and policies, in order to ensure the protection and safety of their respected campuses.
In lieu of these recent events, Debra Atkins, a junior social work major from Jackson, admits she is concerned about campus safety at Jackson State University, and wants to see more security measures implemented by JSU’s Department of Public Safety, in order to maximize the well-being of the university.
“With the campus being so open, anyone can just walk onto the plaza,” said Atkins. “I’ve noticed that most students aren’t wearing their [identification] badges, so how can you tell if someone is a student or not? They should make it mandatory that all students wear their badges.”
In response to Atkins’ concerns, JSU’s crime prevention officer, Damarius Cotton, states that while students are not required to wear their JSU-issued identification visibly, they are required to produce identification when asked by patrolling campus police officers.
Thomas Albright, Department of Public Safety Chief, stated that Jackson State University has taken several proactive measures to protect students and continue its efforts daily.
“For the faculty and staff, we had an active shooter online training. We will follow up on that with an additional component where we will meet with the Deans and break it down to all of the other areas. We’re putting this in place for the students as well. We start off with the student leaders, the SGA, and then once we go through the procedure with them, we’ll branch out to the other students,” said Chief Albright. “We also have a [mass notification] system in place called Everbridge.”
The Everbridge notification system sends text and voice message alerts to students, faculty, and staff in minutes, whether located on-campus or off-campus, in class or in transit.
Albright also stated that any student needing assistance can call Public Safety at 2580 and request officer assistance.
“If you’re by yourself and you make a call to 2580, an officer will come assist you and walk you to where you need to go. This information is publicized and 2580 is the general number for Public Safety,” said Albright.
Officer Cotton maintains that the Department of Public Safety uses all means within their jurisdiction to ensure University security at all times.
“We have officers that are posted on the plaza, as well as plainclothes officers that patrol the campus daily, to try to deter crime,” said Officer Cotton. “They stop suspicious individuals, who may be engaging in suspicious activities.”
Officer Cotton also stated that the Department of Public Safety meets and exceeds all goals for keeping the university safe.
“Being that we’re on a public campus, open to the community, it’s hard to tell people that they cannot come on the property, to attend events, to eat in the Legacy Dining. All we can really do is stop threats and that’s what we do,” said Cotton.
