ROCHESTER, Mich. (WXYZ) — A small group of Oakland University students stood outside of Wilson Hall Friday calling for more campus security.
"We shouldn’t have to worry if we’re the next campus that will be effected by gun violence," said Freshman Emma Garrett who was a part of the demonstration outside of the University President's office.
The students say after the February shooting at Michigan State University, they were reminded of the vulnerabilities their own campus has.
"It was really scary because I graduated with a lot of people that go to MSU and just wondering if they’re safe and then it was scary coming back here to campus because I was scared if we were going to be next or not," said organizer Chloe LeBow.
Lebow along with another student helped create a petition calling for more ID scanners to get into buildings and limited public access to campus. She says currently some buildings are only locked for a few hours a day.
"We are not saying that Oakland is a bad school or an unsafe school but we feel like there’s more that could be done and I don’t think we need to wait for something to happen before we have these extensive safety measures," said LeBow.
At one point during the demonstration, University President Ora Pescovitz spoke with students about their concerns.
"We’re always looking for ways to improve how we can ensure that the campus is both healthy and safe," said Pescovitz. " They want to know could I assure that this campus will be 100% safe and there will never be a problem. I can’t assure that, none of us ever can. It’s impossible. But I can assure them that I will do everything in my power."
University police say they've been working to improve campus security for years.
"Since Virginia Tech, that really was a wake up call for all university police departments across the country," said University Police Chief Mark Gordon. "We took a hard look at our training, our equipment, our security systems, our philosophy of safety and security at that time."
Gordon says over the years the University made the following improvements:
- Addition of thumb latch locks to every classroom
- ID access scanners added to some buildings
- Upgraded loudspeaker systems
- Upgraded CCTV/Security Cameras
Gordon says following the MSU shooting, the University also committed to spending more than $500,000 to continue improving safety. A spokesperson for the university says some of the money has already been used to order security equipment. OU police say their top focus to expand security measures is adding more ID access scanners to buildings that don't have them and security cameras throughout campus.
"We’re in pretty good shape as far as safety and security on this campus goes but you can always do more. You can always do more. Perceptions are reality for people and we’re always trying to be conscious of that aspect," said Gordon.
