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Proposed new security plan at Morgan State University includes a campus wall

President David Wilson stands on a stage with a projected screen reading "President's annual fall town hall" behind him. In the foreground, students and community members fill auditorium seats.
Bri Hatch
/
WYPR News
President David Wilson presents his security plan to an audience of over 200 students, staff and community members.

Morgan State University leaders are proposing a $23 million security upgrade for the campus, following an on-campus mass shooting last week that left five people injured, four of whom were students.

President David Wilson announced the plan – with multiple increased and new efforts – at a packed town hall on Tuesday night that drew over 200 students, staff and community members.

The security upgrade will include a wall that encloses around 90% of the campus, Wilson said. This $6.4 million project will restrict campus access to only two or three entry points that will be guarded by security.

“We are doing this, let me clear, not to keep out our neighbors and community at large,” Wilson said. “We are doing this to keep out bad actors.”

Wilson projected new images of the suspected shooters, released Tuesday afternoon, during the town hall – along with the number to call with information.

“With the clarity now of the images that we sent out today, by the end of this town hall there should be 120 tips,” Wilson said to a cheering audience. “You can see that person as well as you can see someone you take a selfie with.”

As part of the new security plan, more security cameras – like the ones that captured the new suspect images – will be added to the 850 already existing on Morgan’s campus.

The university is also exploring new technology that will monitor students constantly to see if they have weapons with them, without students knowing, Wilson said. And more metal detectors might be added to other campus buildings, in addition to the ones already installed in residence halls.

More security guards and armed police officers will also be added, especially outside every residential hall. Security booths, run by guards all day, will also be stationed around campus.

Wilson said an outside firm is also studying Morgan State’s security measures to make more recommendations.

The president of the historically-Black university also walked through the decisions made the night of the shooting on Oct. 3, like the three-hour search of Thurgood Marshall residence hall that included police checking student rooms.

“We understand some students felt traumatized by that,” Wilson said. “So as a result, we put counseling services in front of you immediately. And we’re still doing that.”

During a nearly two-hour question session after Wilson’s presentation, students raised concerns about police officer accountability – and the effectiveness of both current and proposed security measures.

Three students said some of the university’s blue light emergency systems do not work.

Wilson said he will check every blue light on campus himself by the end of the week.

Aside from security measures, the reception for newly-appointed homecoming court members – which was supposed to happen during last week’s shooting – will be rescheduled soon.

Wilson said campus leaders were “robbed” of a proper celebration. He said the decision to cancel homecoming events was the “only scenario that made rational sense.”

The four students injured in last Tuesday’s shooting will be continuing their classes, Wilson reported, some online and one in-person.

“Who are we at Morgan? This is very simple. We are family,” he said. “We are a vibrant community, and we must be —always— a place for peace.”

Bri Hatch (they/them) is a Report for America Corps Member joining the WYPR team to cover education.
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