MSU Security Upgrades Implemented for New School Year
The upgrades were prompted by February’s active shooter incident that killed three MSU students.
Photo: JHVEPhoto, Adobe Stock
UPDATE August 22, 2023: Michigan State University (MSU) has implemented a wide range of safety and security upgrades just in time for the start of the 2023-2024 school year.
Students will now receive emergency alerts via text, email, phone call, appl and voice announcements made over the university’s weather sirens, reports CBS News Detroit. Additionally, the Safe MSU app has information on safety resources, such as police department contact information, safe rides information, a virtual friend walk feature and more.
Students and faculty members who want to access on-campus buildings after hours will now need to use their MSU ID cards. Key fob access control has also been installed and is being monitored by campus employees.
Additionally, MSU has a new 24-hour, fully staffed security operations center that can monitor both video surveillance feeds and send out emergency notifications.
UPDATE MAY 2, 2023: There is now more specific information on the upgrades Michigan State University (MSU) will be making in response to February’s active shooter attack.
The university will soon be installing thousands of locks on campus doors, with most of them to be installed before the start of the fall semester. Additional security cameras are also being installed, reports WKAR.
Other security upgrades include streamlining and centralizing the access control and video surveillance systems, which will be managed by the campus security operation center.
MSU will soon send push emergency alerts via local county emergency management to mobile phones on campus and in the area adjacent. Additionally, speakers are being installed for mass notification.
Active intruder training will also be introduced.
ORIGINAL FEBRUARY 27, 2023 ARTICLE:
Lansing, Michigan — Michigan State University (MSU) officials are asking for more funding for security from the state legislature in response to the February 13 mass shooting on campus that killed three students and seriously injured five others.
MSU Board of Trustees Chair Rema Vassar told Bridge Michigan that the university has increased the frequency of its security enhancement plans from one-year and five-year plans to six-month plans, which is an expensive change. However, it’s unclear how much money MSU is requesting from the state.
The enhancements that are being considered by MSU include classroom door locks, less time when academic buildings are unlocked, and more security cameras. Mandatory active shooter drills for staff and students are also being considered. Currently, these drills are voluntary.
Right now, an internal security assessment is being conducted, and an external review will be done at a later date.
The request for more security funding was prompted by the mass shooting that was carried out by a 43-year-old gunman who had no apparent connection to MSU. He entered Berkey Hall around 8:18 p.m. and started shooting, killing two people. Because officers were at Berkey Hall, the suspect left that building and went to the MSU Student Union and opened fire again, killing another person before fleeing the scene. The gunman took his own life a short while later.
Before the shooting, both buildings involved in the attack were open to the general public during business hours, and neither had a card access system in place.
The three students killed in the shooting have been identified as Arielle Anderson, 19, Brian Fraser, 20, and Alexandria Verner, 20.
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About the Author
Robin Hattersley, Editor-in-Chief
Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.
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