Students frantically attempt to find their exit, rushing out of Berkey Hall in the East Lansing campus of Michigan State University (MSU). On Feb. 13, MSU experienced a school shooting, killing three victims and critically injuring five other students. According to Best Colleges, a website dedicated to help students explore new career options, there have been 12 mass shootings to occur at U.S. colleges since the 1960’s. Stronger security efforts need to be implemented at all colleges or universities. 

Wilx 10 News  reported that the shooting at Berkey Hall occurred at 8 p.m., interrupting a Cuba History class, where two people died. Another victim died soon after at the Student Union building. Bystanders in their dorm rooms took footage of students running away from the campus seeking shelter.

Wilx News had also reported about how the interim president of MSU announced that Berkey Hall was going to be suspended for the rest of the semester. Thus, making it unavailable for students and staff members to attend class until they decide when it is an appropriate time to re-open. 

Students who attend MSU argued that after the shooting, lessons resumed too soon since the shooting happened one week earlier, preventing students from having time to reflect or grieve. Now many professors expect the remainder of the semester to not be perceived as “normal”. According to NPR, a newscenter, on Sunday night, the university announced that the classes that had been held in the structures where the shooting had occurred had been relocated.

Following the shooting, students and staff questioned the safety of the facilities they had been in. 

Bridge Michigan covered a town hall meeting which dozens of students, staff and members in the MSU community attended. The event was used to cover distress and concerns administrators could address to provide academic and mental support for students.

One of the concerns addressed at the meeting came from a student who attended MSU, senior  Maeve Denshaw. Denshaw mentioned that the shooter had allegedly been around the East Lansing campus still, she had realized that she could not barricade herself and lock the door at the IM West Fitness Center.

Denshaw reported to Bridge Michigan that at the time the shooter was active she had just left a club meeting and was seeking shelter when she was notified of a shooter. “Panicked, [I] bolted the door shut with shoelaces and put a table against it. That’s all we could do,” Denshaw said at the town hall meeting.

In another article published by Bridge Michigan, MSU will have several requests to enhance the security on campus. The university will request funds for new security upgrades such as classroom locks which will fulfill Denshaw’s concern as well as creating fewer open access hours to some of the buildings. 

Other universities, such as Louisiana State University (LSU), had taken precautions to improve their security on their own campuses following the MSU shooting. A newscenter located in Baton Rouge, Br Proud reported LSU efforts to upgrade surveillance on their own campus. LSU Police Chief Bart Thompson told Br Proud that they hold themselves to high expectations for security. If someone decides to come on the LSU campus, a photograph of them on the cameras will be taken in case of future reference.

Campus safety is one of the fundamental parts to research about deciding where you’re going to attend in the future. Hearing news of the lack of security on campuses can drive away people’s decisions of deciding where to apply. In a survey held by Best Colleges, out of 1,000 students,  60 percent said that campus safety was a major factor when deciding what college to attend.

As many students are addressing their anger towards the need for additional security, the MSU community comes together to raise funding and support for the three lives lost and five students injured. The Lansing State Journal covered an event that was held by a local Lansing tattoo shop which raised $3,000 with proceeds going toward the victims families. 

MSU started the Spartan Strong Fund, which will be used to provide additional support for victims that have been both affected mentally and physically due to the shooting. According to the website, the fund will be used towards counseling for students and staff. The fund will also be devoted to first responders for helping during the incident. 

MSU attempts to demonstrate a concern for their students and staff amidst this terrible event, but the implementations of security should have been provided before and to other colleges around the nation. It is unacceptable for the safety of students to not be acknowledged until a tragedy occurs. If precautions had taken place previously, this tragic event could’ve been prevented.