New Campus Safety Measures Issued After Halloween Shooting
President C.L. Max Nikias sent a message to students and faculty Tuesday morning addressing the latest concerns of the Halloween on-campus shooting. Many new measures to improve on-campus safety will be made in the upcoming weeks.
The on-campus shooting occurred on Oct. 31 outside a party sponsored by the Black Student Assembly in the Ronald Tutor Campus Center. Authorities say that four people were shot, none of whom were USC students. All four were wounded and currently in recovery.
The suspect in the shooting, Brandon Spencer, pled not guilty Monday after being charged with four counts of attempted murder. He is scheduled for arraignment on Dec. 6.
Since the Halloween shooting, President Nikias and the Department of Public Safety have taken a second look at their on-campus safety policies.
In his latest message, President Nikias emphasized the importance of the safety of the students and community on campus and stated there will be new policy changes effective immediately. Some of the immediate changes include:
- The use of outside event promoters for USC social events in both university facilities and Fraternity and Sorority events will no longer be permitted.
- The future student event applications will undergo more strict review by USC Student Affairs.
- USC Department of Public Safety officers will be responsible for checking all IDs of individuals attending on-campus events.
- After-hours access to the University Park Campus between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. will now be restricted to students, faculty, staff and their guests only.
- Any person who enters campus after 9 p.m. will be required to show proper ID before entering campus, including all students, faculty, staff and their guests.
- Appropriate ID will also be required for weekend campus events when the number of access points into the campus is limited. Exceptions include large campus events such as home football games.
- The number of Public Safety officers and yellow jacket ambassadors will be increased at both entrances to campus and on campus.
- Security personnel will be on site 24 hours a day to check IDs at the resident halls.
- Additional security cameras on the perimeter and at campus entrances will be installed.
President Nikias feels strongly about these new measures and states that they will strive to protect and enhance on-campus life. He also stated that these measures build upon the extensive safety improvement efforts that USC has undertaken over the past several years, which have resulted in a decrease in crime incidents surrounding the USC community.
A question and answer section regarding the new on-campus changes was included at the end of the message.
Some key questions addressed concerns about the relations with the off-campus community:
Q: Do these new measures mean USC no longer welcomes the community?
A: According to President Nikias, "USC continues to be a welcoming campus. The incident on Oct. 31 showed that we need to be more careful about the possibility that individuals who come on campus may jeopardize the safety of others."
Q: How will services like pizza delivery and airport shuttles work between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.?
A: According to President Nikias, "Service personnel may be asked to show ID and provide a reason for their visit."
Q: Will these new measures regarding after-hours access drive student parties off campus instead of on campus?
A: According to President Nikias, "We believe all students want safe parties that are limited to invited guests, and we will work with sponsoring organizations to continue to accommodate events on campus."
These questions and more can be viewed from President Nikias's message, sent out to both students and faculty.
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