ORANGEBURG, S.C. — South Carolina State University President Alexander Conyers hosted a mandatory all-male student body meeting on Friday to discuss safety on campus.
This meeting comes after an incident on Tuesday where a student was charged with attempted murder after firing a gun in an academic building.
Jadon Reed, a sophomore at S.C. State who attended the meeting, said it went well, and there was a lot of positive discussion.
“I think it was a very successful meeting; they really talked to us about a lot of issues going on on campus recently,” said Reed. “Gave a lot of reassurance, and I think the safety measures that they’re bringing in are going to be real helpful, and I really think that they are going to help move the campus forward and make it more progressive.”
The university decided that there would now be a gun-sniffing dog on campus doing random checks. President Conyers said this additional security feature is to keep students safe.
“This isn’t about trying to make arrests; this is about keeping everybody safe,” said President Conyers. “This is about this capability to serve a deterrent so that no one gets arrested, so that no one goes to jail. We are here to provide an education to the young men and women who have chosen to go to South Carolina State, and every single day, we are looking for new capability to ensure that we can do that in a much safer environment.”
Some students on campus, like Janae Bennett, welcome having gun-sniffing dogs.
“Do whatever you need to do to keep us safe,” said Bennett. “Because our parents send us here to get an education - not be worried about the things that are going on on this campus.”
Other students like Sheridan Tucker-Staley have not yet warmed up to the idea.
“I understand that they want everyone to be safe here, and they just want to have that dog here,” said Tucker-Staley. “But at the same time, we are innocent. Most people are innocent, and one apple shouldn’t spoil the bunch.”
Student Jadon Reed said he hopes the university can overcome the incident that happened earlier this week.
“I think it’s important to realize that this campus isn’t bad; there’s a lot of good things going on at this university,” said Reed. “Every university has issues; it’s just about how you overcome it as a collective.”
There will also be an all-female meeting on campus at some point in the future.