As of Monday, March 13, student IDs are required to enter most buildings on Michigan State University’s campus between 6 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. The change comes as the university ramps up security measures after the mass shooting that took place at Berkey Hall and the Union on Monday, Feb. 13.
However, some students don't think this is enough and demand more action from the university to ensure campus safety.
Psychology senior McAna Craft said locking buildings at 6 p.m. won’t make a difference because the students will be most at-risk during the day when attending classes or going to work.
Locking buildings 24/7 would be the start to making MSU safer, human biology junior Sonja Vlcko said.
“I don’t understand why anybody other than students or faculty and staff should be entering those buildings,” Vlcko said, “I feel like having a student ID to get into buildings is normal.”
A 24/7 ID requirement for building access is the least the university can do to protect its students, Craft said, and further measures might include having police officers in busy buildings and locking classrooms.
However, some students are concerned that a 24/7 ID requirement still isn’t enough protection. Creative advertising junior Lana Heaney said she is not only concerned that anyone can walk into buildings on campus from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., but also that some school shootings are carried out by students.
“For college students, every single person here is old enough to get a gun,” Heaney said. “Usually these shooters are college-aged students or a little older, so I’m thinking what is that really going to stop? If someone just has to use their key to get in a building, how do you know they are going to class?”
Heaney said she doesn’t think anything will truly make MSU’s campus safer unless there is new gun control legislation.
“I haven’t heard the school say anything about gun control or do anything or take any stance on the actual issue,” Heaney said. “The number one thing that’s gonna keep students safe is if ... one of the biggest schools in the United States with so much power actually used their power to do something.”
As the university continues to make changes following the shooting, students want their voices to be heard and taken seriously.
“At the end of the day Michigan State exists for students, it doesn’t exist for any other reason,” Craft said. “So, I think asking students what they want, how they would feel comfortable and really taking those into account before making such wide-scale decisions is really important.”
